Whitener Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,000 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 29.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE MA opened at $525.22 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $427.45 and a 52 week high of $537.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $524.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $493.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.