Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 1,145 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 275,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,145 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $145,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 483.3% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $524.69 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $545.31 and a 200 day moving average of $522.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $478.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS 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 given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.