Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,543 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Souders Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $426,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $1,017,000. Carrera Capital Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 545 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 525,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $276,805,000 after buying an additional 8,477 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its holdings in Mastercard by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 35,701 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $18,799,000 after purchasing an additional 11,318 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7 %

MA opened at $558.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $509.47 billion, a PE ratio of 40.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $544.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $519.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.