Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stake Raised by West Branch Capital LLC

West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,913 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.2% of West Branch Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its position in Mastercard by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 12,778 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,729,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $601,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 289,833 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $152,617,000 after buying an additional 6,214 shares during the last quarter. Genesis Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $881,000. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,473 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,409,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 target price (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $527.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $484.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $537.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $524.19 and a 200-day moving average of $495.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

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. 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced 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 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

About Mastercard

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.