Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Webster Bank N. A.

Webster Bank N. A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,618 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldstein Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $533.50 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $524.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $497.91. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $537.70. 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 P/E ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.