Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 53,121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,196 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $27,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MA opened at $508.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $466.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $524.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $493.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $425.48 and a 1-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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 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 generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

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.