Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 635 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 target price (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

MA opened at $523.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $524.17 and a 200 day moving average of $493.43. 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 Incorporated has a 12 month low of $425.48 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The firm has a market cap of $480.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

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.