Aviance Capital Partners LLC Has $5.50 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,442 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 0.8% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 483.3% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $549.60 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $501.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a PEG 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 $582.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $544.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $519.85.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

About Mastercard

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.