Baron Wealth Management LLC Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 983 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 45 shares during the quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third 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 bought a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $567.29.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $549.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $525.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $499.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $504.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $551.55.

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

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 paid a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.