BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. Sells 609 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,214 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 609 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 0.4% of BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the fourth quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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 target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.5 %

Mastercard stock opened at $546.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $498.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $545.15 and a 200 day moving average of $520.77.

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

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard Company 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.