Lipe & Dalton Sells 556 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Lipe & Dalton lowered its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 60.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 361 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 556 shares during the quarter. Lipe & Dalton’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $54,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $557.44 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $538.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $513.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $508.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie upped their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

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.