Diversify Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,453 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,406 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,425,665,000 after buying an additional 257,312 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after acquiring an additional 453,773 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $525.22 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $427.45 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $524.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $494.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 target price (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.