Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 305,227 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,408 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.9% of DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $160,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% during the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,082,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded up $5.78 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $564.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,258,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,802,116. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.67, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50-day moving average price is $529.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $503.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94.

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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.