NBW Capital LLC Trims Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

NBW Capital LLC decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. NBW Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Mastercard by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Mastercard by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 511 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 422.7% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 230 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Mastercard by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 177,896 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $91,390,000 after acquiring an additional 16,556 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of MA opened at $574.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $543.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $518.76. The firm has a market cap of $523.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.