Jessup Wealth Management Inc Acquires New Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd 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 increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 52.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

Mastercard stock opened at $568.97 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $522.22 billion, a PE ratio of 40.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $537.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $512.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price target (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

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.