Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Cable Hill Partners LLC

Cable Hill Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 32 shares during the period. Cable Hill Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% in the third quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 6,417 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,169,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.9% in the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 3,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,736,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,107 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Strategies LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.5% in the third quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on MA shares. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $560.86 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $541.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $516.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap of $511.34 billion, a PE ratio of 40.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard 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.