S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC Sells 972 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,007 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 972 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 2.3% of S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in Mastercard by 70.5% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 9,688 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 37,608.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 337,487 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $148,886,000 after purchasing an additional 336,592 shares during the last quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 5.3% in the second quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 11,897 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,249,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $268,000. Finally, Excalibur Management Corp raised its stake in Mastercard by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 3,056 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,348,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7 %

Mastercard stock opened at $508.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $524.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $493.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $425.48 and a 1 year high of $537.70. The stock has a market cap of $466.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

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 business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $575.00 price target (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $566.63.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.