Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Acquired by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors increased its Mastercard stake by 33.0% in Q4, buying 8,463 shares to hold 34,138 shares worth about $19.49 million.
• Mastercard beat quarterly expectations with $4.60 EPS (vs. $4.41 est.) and $8.40 billion in revenue, up 15.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $0.87 quarterly dividend (payable May 8, ex-dividend April 9) and the stock carries a consensus "Buy" rating with an average price target of $657.07.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 33.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,463 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $19,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Tacita Capital Inc increased its position in Mastercard by 50.0% during the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Dagco Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Dagco Inc. now owns 66 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $491.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The business's 50 day moving average is $506.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $534.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $480.50 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $438.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.58 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $605.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $657.07.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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