Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL Trims Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 483 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 4,015 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Argentarii LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $641,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $60,699,000. Barings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Barings LLC now owns 607 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 31,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,395,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $546.98 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $545.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $520.77. The company has a market cap of $498.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.