Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT Decreases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,224 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 812 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 1.3% of Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Optas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 5,977 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,147,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management lifted its stake in Mastercard by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 765 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. HFG Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Lazari Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $992,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,951 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,134,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $564.48 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $518.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $528.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $501.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MA. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $598.60.

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.