Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC Buys 31 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 551 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $547.61 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $551.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $525.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $498.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $502.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results 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. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MA. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

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.