Boston Trust Walden Corp Decreases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,174 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth $25,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $559.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $529.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $502.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $513.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.08.

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.