PSI Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

PSI Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,527 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. PSI Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target 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. Susquehanna increased their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.13.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $505.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $463.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $425.48 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $524.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $492.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

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