Good Life Advisors LLC Buys 747 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Good Life Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,098 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $567.90 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $537.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $511.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $521.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie upped their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.