Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC cut its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 40,475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 733 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $21,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE MA opened at $543.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $548.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $525.42. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year 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 $495.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.