GC Wealth Management RIA LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 0.7% of GC Wealth Management RIA LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after acquiring an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 993 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 1,783 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 853 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 2.0 %

Mastercard stock opened at $535.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $545.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $521.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $488.49 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management 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.