Signal Advisors Wealth LLC Acquires 242 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $733,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after buying an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,325,353,000 after acquiring an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $410,813,000 after acquiring an additional 37,486 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after acquiring an additional 100,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE MA opened at $508.49 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $466.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $425.48 and a 12 month high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid 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 is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

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.