New York Life Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

New York Life Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 121,687 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 671 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.6% of New York Life Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $64,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.6 %

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

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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 research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire 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 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.