Portside Wealth Group LLC Sells 156 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Portside Wealth Group LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,350 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 156 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 1.2% of Portside Wealth Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% in the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $525.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $427.45 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $524.28 and a 200 day moving average of $494.24. 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 (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. 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 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MA. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.