YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Has $2.26 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,292 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 440.2% in the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,743 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after buying an additional 3,865 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 9,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,069,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 829 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $147,000. Finally, Wallace Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 8.5% in the second quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,550 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie increased their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $547.53 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $524.77 and its 200 day moving average is $497.91. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $547.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $502.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business 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 a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard 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.