West Family Investments Inc. Decreases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

West Family Investments Inc. cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,949 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 23 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,717 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $634,000. Finally, Wealth Architects LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Architects LLC now owns 1,517 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $549.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $501.07 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G 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 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $544.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $519.85.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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 issued 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MA shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.