Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Holdings Cut by Midland Wealth Advisors LLC

Midland Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,619 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 46 shares during the quarter. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Macquarie lifted their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $546.98 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $498.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.38, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $545.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $521.14.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.