Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by MRA Advisory Group

MRA Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,482 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 181 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.7% of MRA Advisory Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. MRA Advisory Group’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Goldstein Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price target (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.13.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $505.27 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $524.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $492.75. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $425.48 and a 52-week 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. The company has a market cap of $463.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. 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 0.60%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard Company 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.