First Hawaiian Bank Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 23.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,959 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded up $4.66 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $516.06. 2,456,624 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,407,100. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $523.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $491.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $418.54 and a 52 week high of $537.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $473.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Company 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.