Fermata Advisors LLC Buys 860 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fermata Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 123.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 860 shares during the quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $523.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $480.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $425.48 and a 12-month high of $537.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $524.17 and a 200-day moving average of $493.43.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen increased their target price on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.