Aspiriant LLC Has $1.60 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Aspiriant LLC grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

Mastercard stock opened at $525.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $427.45 and a 52 week high of $537.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $524.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $494.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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 issued 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 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.