Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Investment House LLC

Investment House LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,504 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Investment House LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $530.21 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $546.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $523.83. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $483.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.