Plancorp LLC Sells 69 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Plancorp LLC decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $535.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $547.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $524.36. The stock has a market cap of $487.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard 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.