Leelyn Smith LLC Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Leelyn Smith LLC lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,506 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 31 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 0.9% of Leelyn Smith LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 0.5% during the third quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 41,799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,641,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.8% in the third quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 8,144 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,021,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $1,506,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $532.66 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $545.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $523.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $485.63 billion, a PE ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.