Hennessy Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,000 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,580,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% in the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after purchasing an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,325,353,000 after acquiring an additional 337,905 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $410,813,000 after acquiring an additional 37,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,474,151,000 after acquiring an additional 100,550 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $525.22. 2,373,992 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,205,146. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $427.45 and a 52-week high of $537.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $524.28 and a 200 day moving average of $494.59. The company has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio is 19.97%.

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

Mastercard Company 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.