Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Concord Asset Management LLC VA

Concord Asset Management LLC VA cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,510 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $1,080,000. Abacus Planning Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $220,000. Czech National Bank lifted 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 worth $82,940,000 after acquiring an additional 11,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unique Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,682,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given 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 $595.64.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $555.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $509.97 billion, a PE ratio of 42.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $527.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $500.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

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

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.