Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 1,238 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 164,829 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,238 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.2% of Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $86,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 239,800 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $126,271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,471 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,620,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,954 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 81,351 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $42,837,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 165,401 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $87,095,000 after buying an additional 36,450 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $558.81 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $544.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $519.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $509.47 billion, a PE ratio of 40.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase 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 shares are 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.