Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 75 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,883 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $566.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $529.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $503.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The company has a market capitalization of $519.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.08.

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.