Centric Wealth Management Decreases Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Centric Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 37.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,999 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 0.9% of Centric Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Centric Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,385,383,000 after buying an additional 62,891 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after acquiring an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $548.66 on Tuesday. 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 $582.23. The stock has a market cap of $500.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.50, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $551.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $527.59.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.