Hardy Reed LLC Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hardy Reed LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,015 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Advyzon Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $606,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 662,219 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $348,705,000 after acquiring an additional 35,208 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 4,652 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 1,421 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corps Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $1,719,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $568.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $522.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $537.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $512.17. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

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.