Amalgamated Bank Sells 5,244 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 182,458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,244 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.8% of Amalgamated Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $96,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,155 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,874,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Exchange Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 470 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $247,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 3,193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,681,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.2 %

MA opened at $558.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $539.55 and a 200 day moving average of $514.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The firm has a market cap of $509.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

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.