Sawyer & Company Inc Has $3.67 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sawyer & Company Inc raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,967 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 1.4% of Sawyer & Company Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 target price (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $522.41 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $479.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $425.48 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $524.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $493.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management 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 issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

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.