Scott & Selber Inc. Sells 126 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Scott & Selber Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,243 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 126 shares during the quarter. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 88 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Barclays upped their target price on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $574.39 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap of $523.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.35, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $543.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $518.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Mastercard

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.