Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC

Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 416 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25 shares during the quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $511.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $469.65 billion, a PE ratio of 38.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $416.53 and a one year high of $537.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $523.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $490.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research 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 MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $562.76.

Mastercard Company 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.