Advisors Preferred LLC Sells 262 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Advisors Preferred LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $273,000. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 694 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in Mastercard by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 36,140 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,839,000 after acquiring an additional 10,969 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,964 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,833,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in Mastercard by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 3,823 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $562.55 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $531.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $505.09. The firm has a market cap of $516.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.