Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Holdings Decreased by Applied Capital LLC FL

Applied Capital LLC FL cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,028 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 60 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 2.5% of Applied Capital LLC FL’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Applied Capital LLC FL’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2,861.1% during the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,938,000 after buying an additional 10,815 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1,211.0% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 79,970 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,280,000 after acquiring an additional 73,870 shares during the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP increased its position in Mastercard by 7.3% in the second quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 3,290 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its stake in Mastercard by 6.7% during the second quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 2,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.1% during the second quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 18,432 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,132,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $533.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $524.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $497.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $489.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $567.29.

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.