Sovran Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,211 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,125,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership increased its position in Mastercard by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $564.79 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $532.30 and its 200-day moving average is $507.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $518.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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.