VanderPol Investments L.L.C. Purchases 50 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

VanderPol Investments L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. VanderPol Investments L.L.C.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

MA stock traded up $1.95 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $549.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 306,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,470,263. The company has a market cap of $504.17 billion, a PE ratio of 41.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $551.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $525.85 and its 200-day moving average is $499.45.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

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.