Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Holdings Boosted by Bar Harbor Wealth Management

Bar Harbor Wealth Management increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,618 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.13.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $505.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,178,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,403,778. The firm has a market capitalization of $463.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $524.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $492.31. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $425.48 and a 52 week high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. 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 yield of 0.60%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.