Wealth Architects LLC Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wealth Architects LLC decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 127 shares during the quarter. Wealth Architects LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Mastercard by 14.8% in 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.5% in the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the third quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 6,720 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,319,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $67,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of MA opened at $527.87 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $545.38 and its 200 day moving average is $523.14. The company has a market capitalization of $481.27 billion, a PE ratio of 38.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.