Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Little House Capital LLC

Little House Capital LLC lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,996 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 203 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 2.0% of Little House Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,651 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,449,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. American Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. Hickory Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,053,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 93.8% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,473 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,302,000 after buying an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,557,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Raymond James reissued 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. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $564.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $518.36 billion, a PE ratio of 40.66, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $535.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $509.54. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 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%. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

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.