Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Principle Wealth Partners LLC

Principle Wealth Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,943 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Mastercard by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,425,665,000 after buying an additional 257,312 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after acquiring an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $565.51 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $531.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $506.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $519.05 billion, a PE ratio of 40.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board 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.