Pure Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,264 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $527.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $524.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $495.46. The company has a market capitalization of $484.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.93, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

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.