Advocate Group LLC Increases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Advocate Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,780 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 526 shares during the quarter. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3,414.9% in the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 59,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,128,000 after purchasing an additional 57,541 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2,861.1% in the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,938,000 after purchasing an additional 10,815 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 91.6% in the 2nd quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,281,000 after purchasing an additional 2,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First County Bank CT grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the second quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 1,823 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $804,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1 %

MA opened at $533.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $489.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $524.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $497.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

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 dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Mizuho boosted their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $567.29.

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.