Apeiron RIA LLC Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Apeiron RIA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 555 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 48 shares during the quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $533.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $489.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $537.70. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $524.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $496.49.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $567.29.

Mastercard 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.