Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 35.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,728 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,473 shares during the quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the third quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% in the third quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1 %

MA stock opened at $567.12 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $530.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $503.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $520.52 billion, a PE ratio of 40.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. 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 (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.08.

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.