U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,961 shares during the quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 167,963 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $82,940,000 after purchasing an additional 11,513 shares during the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,316 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,106,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Great Waters Wealth Management acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. waypoint wealth counsel acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Finally, Orser Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Orser Capital Management LLC now owns 8,419 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,157,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $6.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $565.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,447,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,809,616. The company's 50-day moving average is $529.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $503.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $518.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.