Sabal Trust CO Raises Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sabal Trust CO lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the quarter. Sabal Trust CO’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 24.4% in the third quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 830 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,080 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,260 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,792,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.9% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,080,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $532,886,000 after acquiring an additional 30,587 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $564.68 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $540.22 and its 200 day moving average is $515.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The company has a market capitalization of $514.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

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.