Whalen Wealth Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,771 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,771 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $933,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 614 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 2,763 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC now owns 824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $705,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 757 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $527.02 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. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $524.27 and a 200-day moving average of $496.23. The company has a market capitalization of $483.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.87, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Macquarie raised their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently 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.