Valmark Advisers Inc. Grows Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,775 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 259 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership increased its holdings in Mastercard by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $564.77 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $535.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $509.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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 paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a 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 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.