Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Nwam LLC

Nwam LLC lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,643 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Nwam LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 88 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 2.0 %

MA stock opened at $576.08 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $525.22 billion, a PE ratio of 41.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $542.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $517.21. 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 (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

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.