44 Wealth Management LLC Trims Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

44 Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,712 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 294 shares during the quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 120.0% in the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen increased their price target 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. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $557.44 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $508.22 billion, a PE ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $538.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $513.33.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 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 paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.