Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by SJS Investment Consulting Inc.

SJS Investment Consulting Inc. cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 29 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $65,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3,414.9% in the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 59,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,128,000 after buying an additional 57,541 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2,861.1% in the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,938,000 after buying an additional 10,815 shares during the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 91.6% during the second quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 2,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First County Bank CT grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 1,823 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $804,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MA opened at $533.50 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $537.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $524.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $497.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $489.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MA. Macquarie increased their price target on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

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.