Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,058 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,828 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 3.3% of Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $75,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after buying an additional 409,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $527.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $483.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $537.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $524.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $496.23. 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 (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MA. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.