Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Modus Advisors LLC

Modus Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,631 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 57 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Macquarie lifted their target price on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MA traded down $4.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $518.33. 316,981 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,526,636. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $416.53 and a 12-month high of $537.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $523.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $488.98. The firm has a market cap of $475.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard 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.