J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,592 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after buying an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after buying an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,932,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $564.77 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $535.49 and a 200-day moving average of $509.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.