NWF Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

NWF Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 147.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,544 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,516 shares during the period. NWF Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $571.40 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $554.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $566.33. The firm has a market cap of $513.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.87. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $610.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $654.81.

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.