Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,543 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $812,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Souders Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $426,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $1,017,000. Carrera Capital Advisors grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 545 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 525,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $276,805,000 after acquiring an additional 8,477 shares during the period. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 35,701 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,799,000 after acquiring an additional 11,318 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $558.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $509.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $544.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $519.64. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.