Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. Sells 775 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,465 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 775 shares during the period. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Mastercard by 51.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $818,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Mastercard by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,899,438 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,532,541,000 after acquiring an additional 565,717 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MA. Susquehanna upped their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday. Four research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MA opened at $524.69 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $545.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $522.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.77, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

About Mastercard

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.