Empirical Finance LLC Sells 398 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Empirical Finance LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 398 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.9% of Empirical Finance LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $15,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.8 %

Mastercard stock opened at $562.55 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $531.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $505.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually 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.