Sandy Cove Advisors LLC Grows Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sandy Cove Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $525.22 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $524.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $494.24. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $427.45 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.