City Holding Co. Sells 843 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

City Holding Co. lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,232 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 843 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 1.4% of City Holding Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. City Holding Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hall Laurie J Trustee boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 14,737 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,760,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $1,244,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Mastercard by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 9,390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,944,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $422,000. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 10,329 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,439,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

MA stock opened at $525.22 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $427.45 and a one year high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $524.28 and its 200 day moving average is $494.59. The firm has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

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.