Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by 180 Wealth Advisors LLC

180 Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,477 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $508.49 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $425.48 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $466.71 billion, a PE ratio of 38.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $524.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $493.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share buyback 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis 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 presently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

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.