Triangle Securities Wealth Management Sells 48 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Triangle Securities Wealth Management lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,393 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,360,000 after buying an additional 3,536 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,240,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,755 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,451,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 60,583 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,901,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $525.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $524.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $494.24. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $427.45 and a 52 week high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company 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 anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership 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.