2,362 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Bought by Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC

Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,244,000. Mastercard accounts for about 0.5% of Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 9,390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,944,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $422,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 10,329 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Kelly Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,630,000. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 36,063 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,990,000 after buying an additional 2,045 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $525.22 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $427.45 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 stock has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $524.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $494.59.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.