Missouri Trust & Investment Co Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Missouri Trust & Investment Co lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $527.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $524.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $495.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $484.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $537.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.