MCF Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

MCF Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 994 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 72 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,154,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,286 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,655,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its holdings in Mastercard by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 3,451 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Tremblant Capital Group lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 46.7% in the second quarter. Tremblant Capital Group now owns 4,028 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,777,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,219,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $527.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $484.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $524.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $495.46. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

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 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 a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Macquarie increased their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

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.