CGN Advisors LLC Sells 146 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

CGN Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,551 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the quarter. CGN Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Price Performance

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

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually 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.