Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Purchased by Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 81.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,636 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,077 shares during the quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after buying an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 52.8% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $573,017,000 after buying an additional 409,334 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $525.22. 2,373,992 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,205,146. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $427.45 and a 52-week high of $537.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50-day moving average is $524.28 and its 200-day moving average is $494.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

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

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Macquarie upped their price target on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four investment 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 a consensus target price of $566.63.

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.