Carnegie Investment Counsel Sells 725 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Carnegie Investment Counsel reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,096 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 725 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 1.7% of Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Mastercard were worth $60,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.5% in 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.2% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $525.22. The stock had a trading volume of 2,373,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,646,914. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $427.45 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $482.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. 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 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MA. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $566.63.

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.