Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Armstrong Advisory Group Inc.

Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 422 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $1,155,000. Charles Lim Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,380,000. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 867 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.0% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 245,305 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $108,219,000 after acquiring an additional 20,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 32,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $14,471,000 after acquiring an additional 2,016 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MA. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 target price (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE MA opened at $522.41 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $524.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $493.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $425.48 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. The firm has a market cap of $479.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

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

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 paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.