Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 391 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,144 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 0.8% of Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 35.7% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 3,414.9% in the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 59,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,128,000 after buying an additional 57,541 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2,861.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,938,000 after acquiring an additional 10,815 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 91.6% during the second quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 2,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First County Bank CT boosted its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% in the second quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 1,823 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $804,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $533.50 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $524.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $496.49. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $537.70. The company has a market cap of $489.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Mizuho increased their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

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.