Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Aviso Wealth Management

Aviso Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,944 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 559 shares during the quarter. Aviso Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2 %

MA opened at $544.74 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $549.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $525.90. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $496.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on MA shares. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.