Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by SS&H Financial Advisors Inc.

SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,129 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $35,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $508.49 on Wednesday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $524.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $425.48 and a 52 week high of $537.70. The company has a market cap of $466.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

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.