Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Makes New $201,000 Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 383 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $533.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $489.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $537.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $524.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $497.91.

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

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Company 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.