Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Sells 80 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,354 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.6% of Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Safeguard Financial LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 92.9% during the fourth quarter. Safeguard Financial LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,871 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,468,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,213,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Tuttle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC now owns 809 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MRA Advisory Group grew its holdings in Mastercard by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. MRA Advisory Group now owns 2,482 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,307,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $508.49 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $524.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $493.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $466.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $425.48 and a 52-week high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 target price (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

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.