WT Wealth Management Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

WT Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. WT Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 483.3% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MA opened at $560.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $511.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $541.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $516.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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.