Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $525.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $427.45 and a 1 year high of $537.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $524.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $494.24. The firm has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.