Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Position Cut by Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY

Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,183 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 744 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 8.5% of Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $26,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Mastercard by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after purchasing an additional 241,297 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 773 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $109,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 7.4% during the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 34,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,798,000 after buying an additional 2,336 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 89,267 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,080,000 after buying an additional 2,033 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $576.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $525.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $576.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $542.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $517.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a stock 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 often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.