Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Raises Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,221 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,373 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 2.7% of Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $43,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. 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 has a market capitalization of $489.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $524.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $497.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership 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 issued a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.