Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV Has $3.94 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,476 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 74 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.8% of Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Woodard & Co. Asset Management Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership grew its holdings in Mastercard by 120.0% during the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MA. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $564.77 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $535.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $509.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

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.