Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Legacy Trust

Legacy Trust reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,425 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. Legacy Trust’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 386 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 33.0% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Brown Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $673,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,525,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $549.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $504.11 billion, a PE ratio of 41.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $551.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $525.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $499.45.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company 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 was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $567.29.

Mastercard Company 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.