Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,288 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 17,664 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $36,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MA shares. TD Cowen lifted 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $567.29.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $547.61. 2,727,544 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,607,825. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $551.55. The company has a market cap of $502.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $525.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $498.70.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. This is an increase from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding 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 generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.