Mayar Capital Ltd. Sells 1,464 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Mayar Capital Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,742 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,464 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 7.4% of Mayar Capital Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Mayar Capital Ltd.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $606.11.

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Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA traded down $2.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $546.98. 3,161,263 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,646,326. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $545.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $521.14. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company has a market cap of $498.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard 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.