Aprio Wealth Management LLC Purchases 410 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,952 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $505.52 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $524.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $492.31. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $425.48 and a 52 week high of $537.70. The company has a market capitalization of $463.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.24, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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 business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.13.

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.