Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Position Reduced by New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC

New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,069 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Brown Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth approximately $673,000. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Passive Capital Management LLC. grew its position in Mastercard by 10.0% during the second quarter. Passive Capital Management LLC. now owns 464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,080,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $567.29.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $564.81 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $527.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $500.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often 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. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

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.