New Hampshire Trust Sells 297 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

New Hampshire Trust reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,763 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 297 shares during the period. New Hampshire Trust’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE MA opened at $525.22 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $524.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $494.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $427.45 and a one year high of $537.70.

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

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

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.