Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Sivia Capital Partners LLC

Sivia Capital Partners LLC cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 33 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 0.5% of Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Fulcrum Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 29,631 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $15,603,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC now owns 470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group lifted its stake in Mastercard by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 3,733 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,368 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,233,000 after buying an additional 854 shares during the period. Finally, Westmount Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of MA traded up $0.12 on Monday, reaching $504.79. 1,969,634 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,394,476. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $524.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $492.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $425.48 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $463.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MA. Macquarie raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.13.

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.