Boltwood Capital Management Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Boltwood Capital Management grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Boltwood Capital Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.6 %

MA traded down $3.09 on Monday, hitting $518.27. 948,962 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,778,835. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $523.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $490.28. The company has a market cap of $475.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $416.53 and a twelve month high of $537.70. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.