Pinion Investment Advisors LLC Sells 31 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Pinion Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,240 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 31 shares during the quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Mastercard by 51.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $818,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553,329 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after purchasing an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $574.39 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $523.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.35, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $543.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $518.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MA shares. Barclays upped their price target on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.