Providence First Trust Co Lowers Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Providence First Trust Co cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,332 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Providence First Trust Co’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 773 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $109,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 34,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 89,267 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:MA opened at $576.08 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $542.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $517.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie boosted their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard 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.