Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Lifted by Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC

Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Cerro Pacific Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $533.77 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $524.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $496.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. The firm has a market cap of $489.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

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.