KG&L Capital Management LLC Sells 130 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

KG&L Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,645 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. KG&L Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Dohj LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Dohj LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA raised its holdings in Mastercard by 201.6% during the fourth quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,935 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,391,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $382,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 5,832 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,071,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $595.64.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $555.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $509.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.03, a PEG ratio of 2.17 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $528.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $501.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.