Ritholtz Wealth Management Buys 660 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,004 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MA traded up $2.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $525.22. 2,373,992 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,646,914. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $427.45 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The company has a market capitalization of $482.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50 day moving average is $524.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $493.64.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho raised their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $566.63.

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.