Stokes Family Office LLC Decreases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Stokes Family Office LLC cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,456 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 483.3% in the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $530.21 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The company has a market cap of $483.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $546.16 and its 200-day moving average is $523.83. 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 (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share 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 buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.