Burr Financial Services LLC Sells 60 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Burr Financial Services LLC lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,989 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.7% of Burr Financial Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Burr Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 614 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 2,763 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,455,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Echo45 Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC now owns 824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $705,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 62.8% during the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 757 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $527.02 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $524.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $496.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $483.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.