Avion Wealth Buys 215 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Avion Wealth boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 154.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 354 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Avion Wealth’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after buying an additional 257,312 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after acquiring an additional 453,773 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE MA opened at $564.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $518.38 billion, a PE ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $532.30 and a 200-day moving average of $507.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MA shares. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.08.

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.