Private Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Private Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,940 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 303 shares during the quarter. Private Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $54,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MA. UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Macquarie raised their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $564.91 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $541.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $516.37. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $515.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.67, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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.

About Mastercard

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.