Empirical Asset Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 30,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,266,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $523.08 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $425.48 and a 52-week high of $537.70. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $524.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.43. The stock has a market cap of $480.10 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $3.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.