WBH Advisory Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

WBH Advisory Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,337 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. WBH Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $25,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $55,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating 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, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $564.77 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $518.36 billion, a PE ratio of 40.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $535.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $509.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors 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 yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign 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.