Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Csenge Advisory Group

Csenge Advisory Group lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,441 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 579 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group's holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Mastercard by 51.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 52.8% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $573,017,000 after buying an additional 409,334 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $568.36. 982,074 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,561,124. The stock has a market capitalization of $521.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $537.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $511.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.11.

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.