Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,207 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after buying an additional 257,312 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after acquiring an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $562.55 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $531.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $505.53. The company has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research reports. Susquehanna upped their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.08.

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.