Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,368 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $54,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MA. Mizuho raised their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $557.44 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $508.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.13, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $538.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $514.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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.