Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Cambiar Investors LLC

Cambiar Investors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,281 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,223 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 1.5% of Cambiar Investors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Cambiar Investors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $38,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Retirement Planning Group LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth $319,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 9.4% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 372 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Martin Capital Advisors LLP lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% in the third quarter. Martin Capital Advisors LLP now owns 9,528 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,705,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel lifted its stake in Mastercard by 3.3% in the third quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 16,872 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,331,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in Mastercard by 9.4% in the third quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 98,953 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $48,863,000 after buying an additional 8,529 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MA. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of MA opened at $565.51 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $531.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $506.04. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $519.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.