Westmount Partners LLC Acquires 75 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Westmount Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Westmount Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the third 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 buying an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Mastercard by 51.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after buying an additional 1,965,782 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 52.8% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $1.06 during trading on Monday, reaching $505.73. 1,622,072 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,344,842. The company has a market capitalization of $464.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $492.31. 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 Incorporated has a 52-week low of $425.48 and a 52-week high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price target (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.13.

Mastercard 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.