Cascade Investment Group Inc. Sells 22 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cascade Investment Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 823 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 22 shares during the quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldstein Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.3% during the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MA opened at $525.22 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $427.45 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The company has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $524.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $494.59.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

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.