West Branch Capital LLC Has $3.64 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

West Branch Capital LLC raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,913 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.2% of West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldstein Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $527.84 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $524.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $495.46. 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 market cap of $484.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.93, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

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

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.