Wagner Wealth Management LLC Increases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wagner Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 826 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and 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 about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $562.55 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $531.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $505.53. The company has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.