Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. Has $20.78 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,462 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 1.2% of Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $20,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Bank increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Bank now owns 1,239 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,097,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517 shares during the period. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. Transform Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Transform Wealth LLC now owns 15,694 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,264,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 20,185 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,629,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6 %

MA stock opened at $527.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $524.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $495.46. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $484.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase 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 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

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.