Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Sells 350 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,325 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,143,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 5.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 57,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $28,604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.1% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 832 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Private Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 10.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,780 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,829,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $273,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $562.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $531.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $504.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp increased their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.08.

About Mastercard

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.