Sawyer & Company Inc Has $3.67 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sawyer & Company Inc lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,967 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.4% of Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Sawyer & Company Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $522.41 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $479.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $425.48 and a 52-week high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

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.