Hantz Financial Services Inc. Lowers Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,311 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 4,706 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 0.7% of Hantz Financial Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Hantz Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $42,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after purchasing an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Mastercard by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,325,353,000 after purchasing an additional 337,905 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $194,141,000 after buying an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% during the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 831,942 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $410,813,000 after purchasing an additional 37,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3 %

Mastercard stock traded up $1.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $549.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,544,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,604,227. 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 twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $551.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $504.11 billion, a PE ratio of 41.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $525.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $499.45.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is 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. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MA shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $567.29.

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.