Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 20 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 20 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank increased its position in Mastercard by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 167,963 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $82,940,000 after purchasing an additional 11,513 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 17.0% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 7,988 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,944,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% during the third quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 64,154 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,679,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.2% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 3,068 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Mastercard by 12.0% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 895 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:MA opened at $559.21 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $529.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $502.60. The firm has a market cap of $513.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

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.