Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV Sells 669 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,585 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 669 shares during the quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% in the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:MA opened at $527.87 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $545.38 and a 200 day moving average of $523.14. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $481.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.