Independent Wealth Network Inc. Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Independent Wealth Network Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 624 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.1% during the second quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,095,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 53.4% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,043,557 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $460,376,000 after acquiring an additional 363,133 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 160.0% in the second quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 19,900 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,779,000 after acquiring an additional 12,246 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 60.9% during the second quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 21,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,441,000 after purchasing an additional 8,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 34,047 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,020,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MA opened at $527.02 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $537.70. The stock has a market cap of $483.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $524.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $496.01.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 target price (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Four research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard 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.