403 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Purchased by Sage Financial Management Group Inc.

Sage Financial Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 403 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 52.8% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after buying an additional 409,334 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE MA opened at $549.25 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $504.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.55, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $525.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $499.45. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $551.55.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $567.29.

Mastercard 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.