Code Waechter LLC Lowers Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Code Waechter LLC decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Code Waechter LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.13.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MA opened at $505.27 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $425.48 and a 52-week high of $537.70. The company has a market cap of $463.75 billion, a PE ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $524.08 and a 200 day moving average of $492.75.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

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.