Missouri Trust & Investment Co Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Missouri Trust & Investment Co reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,840 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 27 shares during the period. Missouri Trust & Investment Co’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldstein Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. increased its position in Mastercard by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% in the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:MA opened at $527.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $484.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $495.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MA shares. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

About Mastercard

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.