Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC

Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $1.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $524.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 582,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,475,959. The business has a fifty day moving average of $524.17 and a 200 day moving average of $493.43. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $427.45 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $481.83 billion, a PE ratio of 39.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

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.