WestEnd Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

WestEnd Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,693 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,118 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.2% of WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $45,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $19,730,000 after buying an additional 8,259 shares during the period. Hendershot Investments Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 35,432 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $18,657,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 76,475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,269,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 1,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,182 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,223 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $562.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $516.33 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $531.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $505.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $576.94.

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

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

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

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.