Phillips Wealth Planners LLC Sells 23 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Phillips Wealth Planners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,036 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 23 shares during the period. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth $54,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2 %

Mastercard stock opened at $527.02 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $524.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $496.01. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $483.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Company 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.