Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners Purchases 91 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $567.29.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $533.50 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $524.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $497.46. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $489.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.