Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,860 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.0% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,143,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,998,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 57,927 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $28,604,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 704 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 2,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $567.12 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $530.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $503.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $520.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 16.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.