Patron Partners LLC Grows Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Patron Partners LLC raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,737 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 1.4% of Patron Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Mastercard by 7.4% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 167,963 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $82,940,000 after purchasing an additional 11,513 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,191,000 after purchasing an additional 2,239 shares during the period. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 261.1% in the third quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 5,532 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,732,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,129,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 22,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,886,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $564.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $518.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $528.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $501.78.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan 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 buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their target price on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $598.60.

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.