Empirical Finance LLC Sells 398 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Empirical Finance LLC cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,561 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 398 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 0.9% of Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $15,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $273,000. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 43.6% in 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.9% in 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 3,823 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:MA opened at $562.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $531.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $505.09. The company has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. 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 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.