Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance Sells 36 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 716 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 36 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $319,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.4% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 372 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Martin Capital Advisors LLP boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% during the third quarter. Martin Capital Advisors LLP now owns 9,528 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,705,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 16,872 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,331,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Mastercard by 9.4% in the third quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 98,953 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $48,863,000 after purchasing an additional 8,529 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.5 %

MA opened at $565.51 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $531.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $506.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $519.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.71, a PEG 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Macquarie lifted their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price objective (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

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.