Wambolt & Associates LLC Has $5.11 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wambolt & Associates LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,693 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,512 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 1.6% of Wambolt & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Momentous Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $205,000. Florida Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,590 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,364,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 134,265 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,700,000 after purchasing an additional 3,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syverson Strege & Co bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $217,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised 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. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $543.82 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $548.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $525.42. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. 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 capitalization of $495.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.