Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stake Increased by Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,442 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,672 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 2.0% of Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $25,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 749,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $394,502,000 after purchasing an additional 87,278 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its position in Mastercard by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 32,304 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,010,000 after buying an additional 4,377 shares during the period. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. now owns 5,223 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,750,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 1,003 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 551 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $547.61 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $551.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $525.85 and its 200 day moving average is $499.45. The stock has a market cap of $502.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

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.