Old North State Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Old North State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 841 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of MA opened at $559.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $529.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $502.60. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $513.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.26, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.