Mather Group LLC. Has $6.21 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Mather Group LLC. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 888 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 120.0% during the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MA. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Four 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $599.42.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $564.48 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $528.28 and its 200-day moving average is $501.78. The company has a market capitalization of $518.10 billion, a PE ratio of 40.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

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.