Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Has $615,000 Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lowered its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 441 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 440.2% during the 2nd quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,743 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after acquiring an additional 3,865 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 9,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,069,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Invst LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 14.0% during the second quarter. Invst LLC now owns 829 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Finally, Wallace Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wallace Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,550 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MA. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $547.53 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $524.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $497.91. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $547.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market cap of $502.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid 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 yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.