Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Contravisory Investment Management Inc.

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,162 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 2.0% of Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,155,000. Charles Lim Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $68,380,000. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 6.5% in the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 867 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.0% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 245,305 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $108,219,000 after purchasing an additional 20,162 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 32,803 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,471,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Macquarie boosted their price target on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $522.41 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $479.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $425.48 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $524.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $493.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

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.