CENTRAL TRUST Co Sells 221 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

CENTRAL TRUST Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,416 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 221 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $20,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 7.4% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 167,963 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $82,940,000 after acquiring an additional 11,513 shares during the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,316 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,106,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Great Waters Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $203,000. waypoint wealth counsel acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $223,000. Finally, Orser Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% during the third quarter. Orser Capital Management LLC now owns 8,419 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,157,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $555.63 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $509.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $528.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $501.43.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MA. Mizuho increased their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $595.64.

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.