Martin & Co. Inc. TN Sells 239 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Martin & Co. Inc. TN lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,034 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 239 shares during the quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 51.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $9,043,972,000 after acquiring an additional 453,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $573,017,000 after acquiring an additional 409,334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $564.77 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $535.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $510.30. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.36 billion, a PE ratio of 40.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.