Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Nikulski Financial Inc.

Nikulski Financial Inc. lowered its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,704 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after buying an additional 1,965,782 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after acquiring an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after acquiring an additional 409,334 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1 %

Mastercard stock opened at $533.50 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $524.77 and a 200-day moving average of $497.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $489.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $567.29.

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.