Vantage Investment Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,301 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,094 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldstein Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $567.29.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Mastercard
Mastercard Stock Performance
NYSE:MA traded down $0.03 on Tuesday, reaching $547.61. 2,725,408 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,560,140. The firm has a market cap of $502.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $525.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $498.70. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $551.55.
Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. Mastercard's revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.
Mastercard Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. This is an increase from Mastercard's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.
Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Mastercard Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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