Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. Sells 28 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,394 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 28 shares during the quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 205,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $101,523,000 after purchasing an additional 11,331 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 24,428 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,063,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $233,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $564.77 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $534.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $508.68. The company has a market capitalization of $518.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna upped their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

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.