Legal Advantage Investments Inc. Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Legal Advantage Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,471 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Legal Advantage Investments Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.7% during the 3rd 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 grew its holdings in Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after acquiring an additional 304,293 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MA. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 target price (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 15th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $525.22 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $524.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $494.92. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $427.45 and a 1 year high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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 paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

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.