Goldstone Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Goldstone Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,305 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Macquarie raised their target price on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

Mastercard stock opened at $523.08 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $524.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.43. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $425.48 and a one year high of $537.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $480.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.