Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Raises Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,804 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its stake in Mastercard by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 2,589 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,363,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Sather Financial Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 97,902 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $51,552,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MA opened at $564.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $532.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $507.00. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $518.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 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 dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $603.08.

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.