Fortitude Family Office LLC Sells 39 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fortitude Family Office LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 597 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 39 shares during the quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $516.06 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $524.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $491.44. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $418.54 and a one year high of $537.70. The company has a market capitalization of $473.66 billion, a PE ratio of 39.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. 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 yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.76.

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.