Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA

Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA lowered its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,623 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 302 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 2.1% of Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $15,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during 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 buying an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 453,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 52.8% in the third 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 last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $599.42.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of MA opened at $558.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $528.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $501.78. The company has a market capitalization of $512.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.