Welch & Forbes LLC Decreases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,241 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,030 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,980 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,308,000 after purchasing an additional 4,166 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 515,594 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $271,496,000 after purchasing an additional 102,714 shares in the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $1,169,000. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 30,090 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,845,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,723 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,014,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.6 %

MA stock opened at $549.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $501.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.57, a P/E/G 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $544.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $519.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released 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, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.