Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 294,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,752 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $155,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $527.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $483.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $524.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $496.01. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MA. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price target (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

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.