Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Park National Corp OH

Park National Corp OH trimmed its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 899 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $17,425,665,000 after buying an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after purchasing an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after purchasing an additional 8,035,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $516.06 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $418.54 and a 52 week 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 company has a market cap 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $523.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $491.27.

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

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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 issued a $0.76 dividend. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.