Sound Income Strategies LLC Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 635 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 67 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho increased their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $533.50 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $496.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $489.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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 business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 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.