Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA Decreases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 765 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $533.05 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $537.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $524.77 and its 200 day moving average is $497.91. The stock has a market cap of $489.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.34, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Macquarie lifted 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

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.