Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Salvus Wealth Management LLC

Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,580 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on MA shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer cut 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $523.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $425.48 and a 12-month high of $537.70. The company has a market cap of $480.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.43.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.