Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 43.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,823 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,389 shares during the quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $533.50 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $524.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $497.46. 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 market cap of $489.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $567.29.

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.