Godsey & Gibb Inc. Trims Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Godsey & Gibb Inc. trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 691 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. raised its position in Mastercard by 0.9% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% in the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.6 %

MA stock opened at $522.41 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $524.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $493.23. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $479.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $425.48 and a one year high of $537.70.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

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.