Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc.

McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 20,386 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 190 shares during the quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Invst LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invst LLC now owns 829 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $147,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.7% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,355 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,215,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 386 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.0 %

MA opened at $547.61 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $525.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $499.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $502.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $551.55.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $567.29.

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.