Chickasaw Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Chickasaw Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,283 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 32 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 0.3% of Chickasaw Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $804,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,008,000 after acquiring an additional 6,456 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 200 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

MA stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $512.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,294,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,133,748. The firm has a market capitalization of $470.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $416.53 and a 52-week high of $537.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $523.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $490.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share 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 buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MA. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $562.76.

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.