Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV Sells 669 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,585 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 669 shares during the quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $818,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553,329 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,899,438 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,532,541,000 after purchasing an additional 565,717 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $527.87 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $545.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $523.14. 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 $481.27 billion, a PE ratio of 38.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

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.