Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 62.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 88 shares during the quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. PFG Advisors lifted its stake in Mastercard by 3.6% in the second quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 3,406 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 1,361,703 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $605,681,000 after purchasing an additional 51,977 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 30.7% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,519 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,846,000 after purchasing an additional 3,645 shares in the last quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.6% in the second quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,369 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,339,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $2,765,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $505.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $425.48 and a 12-month high of $537.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $463.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.24, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $524.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $491.78.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current 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 $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Citigroup upped their price objective on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp increased their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.76.

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.