Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 27.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,949 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $245,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 20,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,929,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 826 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 40,008 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $21,067,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $562.55 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. The company has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $531.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $505.53.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MA. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $603.08.

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.