Childress Capital Advisors LLC Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,498 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Mastercard by 7.4% during 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. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,191,000 after buying an additional 2,239 shares during the period. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 261.1% in the third quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,732,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,129,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Mastercard by 0.3% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 22,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,886,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $564.48 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $528.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $501.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders 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 is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $598.60.

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.