Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC Sells 64 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,170 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 target price (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their target price on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $527.87 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $481.27 billion, a PE ratio of 38.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $545.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $523.14. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.