Diversify Advisory Services LLC Sells 861 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,073 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 861 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $2.08 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $525.22. The stock had a trading volume of 2,373,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,146. The company has a market capitalization of $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $524.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $494.92. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $427.45 and a 52 week high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MA. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.