ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Cuts Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,062 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 28 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 2.2% of ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $15,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 2,891 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,524,000 after buying an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 53,121 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,972,000 after acquiring an additional 5,196 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,686 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,129 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,648,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.9 %

MA stock traded up $9.64 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $518.66. 467,219 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,300,240. The company has a market capitalization of $476.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $425.48 and a 12 month high of $537.70. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign 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. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Macquarie upped their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.