Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its stake in Mastercard by 40.7% in Q4 to 12,812 shares worth $7.314 million, making MA its 23rd largest holding (0.9% of the firm's portfolio).
• Mastercard beat Q4 estimates with $4.76 EPS and $8.81 billion revenue (up 17.5% YoY); sell-side analysts have a consensus Buy rating with an average price target of $664.40.
• MA trades with a market cap of about $445 billion, a P/E of 30.19 and a 52-week range of $480.50–$601.77, and it recently announced a $0.87 quarterly dividend (annualized $3.48, ~0.7% yield; ex-dividend April 9).

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 40.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,812 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.9% of Stanley Laman Group Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Robbins Farley lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dagco Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Dagco Inc. now owns 66 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $700.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Macquarie Infrastructure upped their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $611.00 price objective on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $664.40.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $498.80 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $444.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business's 50 day moving average price is $513.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $541.60. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $480.50 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 21.07%.

About Mastercard

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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