Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Has $152.62 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 289,833 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,214 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.6% of Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $152,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Genesis Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $881,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,473 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,409,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,984 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 955 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $527.84 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $495.46. The firm has a market cap of $484.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released 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. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s 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 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MA. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.