Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Buys 3,603 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,265 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,603 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.8% of Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $70,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.5 %

MA stock opened at $543.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $495.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $548.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $525.42.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.