Centric Wealth Management Has $3.49 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Centric Wealth Management lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 37.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,632 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,999 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 0.9% of Centric Wealth Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Centric Wealth Management's holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $893,000. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 82.0% in the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 1,294 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1,664.2% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 100,736 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $49,761,000 after acquiring an additional 95,026 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA traded down $40.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $489.94. The stock had a trading volume of 6,050,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,568,090. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $551.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $528.13. The stock has a market cap of $446.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.27, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.