NovaPoint Capital LLC Has $5.45 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

NovaPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,353 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 234 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.7% of NovaPoint Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. NovaPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 167,963 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $82,940,000 after acquiring an additional 11,513 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.5% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 20,075 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,913,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Mastercard by 6.0% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,143,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Talbot Financial LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 4.9% during the third quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 16,262 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,030,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the period. Finally, Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 4.6% during the third quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $566.05 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The stock has a market cap of $519.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $529.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $503.41.

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

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change 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 yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MA. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.08.

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.