Harvey Investment Co. LLC Sells 171 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Harvey Investment Co. LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 171 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 2.7% of Harvey Investment Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Harvey Investment Co. LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $23,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $567.12 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $531.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $504.29. The firm has a market cap of $520.52 billion, a PE ratio of 40.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication 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 issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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.