Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. Sells 39 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,767 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AdvisorShares Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.3% in the second quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,250,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,875,266,000 after acquiring an additional 38,380 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $1,998,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.0% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 14,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,308,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 77,179 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,048,000 after purchasing an additional 7,222 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $10.12 on Friday, reaching $505.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,799,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,321,701. The company has a market capitalization of $463.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.24, a P/E/G 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 $425.48 and a 52 week high of $537.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $524.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $491.44.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans 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.