Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Stratos Investment Management LLC

Stratos Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,318 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,010 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.4% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 167,963 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $82,940,000 after purchasing an additional 11,513 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 7,988 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,944,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 64,154 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,679,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.2% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 3,068 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Mastercard by 12.0% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 895 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.8 %

MA stock opened at $559.21 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $529.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $502.60. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $513.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign 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.