Howland Capital Management LLC Sells 39 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Howland Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,842 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 39 shares during the quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,011 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,639,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $19,730,000 after buying an additional 8,259 shares during the period. Hendershot Investments Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 35,432 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $18,657,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Mastercard by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,269,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays upped 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $562.55 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $531.61 and a 200 day moving average of $505.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $576.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. 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.