XML Financial LLC Has $601,000 Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

XML Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,142 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in 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 stake in Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in 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 buying an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $527.02 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $483.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $524.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $496.01. 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 (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price target (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Four 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

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.