Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by SNS Financial Group LLC

SNS Financial Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. SNS Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 563 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,467 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721 shares during the last quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 395,189 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $195,144,000 after purchasing an additional 63,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 15,488 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,648,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $568.97 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $522.22 billion, a PE ratio of 40.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $537.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $512.17. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given 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 price target of $606.11.

Mastercard 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.