Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY Boosts Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,014 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 773 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $109,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 34,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 89,267 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,080,000 after acquiring an additional 2,033 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $576.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $542.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $517.21. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $525.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

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.