Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 124.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,323 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 1.3% of Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 82,221 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,295,000 after purchasing an additional 6,373 shares during the last quarter. Stewardship Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Stewardship Advisors LLC now owns 956 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 8,780 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,623,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 28,065 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $14,778,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen lifted 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. Barclays raised their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $567.29.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $533.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $489.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $524.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $497.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

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

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

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.