Kestra Investment Management LLC Sells 132 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kestra Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 132 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB grew its position in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after acquiring an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 893 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 4,480 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,212,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,589 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,772,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 563 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Macquarie increased their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $567.90 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $537.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $511.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap of $521.24 billion, a PE ratio of 40.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.