South Street Advisors LLC Has $6.86 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

South Street Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,976 shares during the quarter. South Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Custos Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Clarity Wealth Development LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $561,000. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,316,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,002,000. Finally, BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 846 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $532.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $485.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $545.80 and a 200-day moving average of $523.50.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

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.