Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by City Holding Co.

City Holding Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,232 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 843 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.4% of City Holding Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. City Holding Co.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hall Laurie J Trustee lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 14,737 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,760,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,244,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 9,390 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,944,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $422,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in Mastercard by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 10,329 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,439,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

MA traded up $2.08 on Monday, hitting $525.22. 2,373,992 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,205,146. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $427.45 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The company has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $524.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $494.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share 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 usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. This is a boost from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.