Mutual Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Mutual Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,030 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price target (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $533.77 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $524.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $496.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $489.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.38, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication 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.