Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Ascension Capital Advisors Inc.

Ascension Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 34.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 655 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 345 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 0.2% of Ascension Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Ascension Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 4,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 74.6% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 12,754 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,716,000 after purchasing an additional 5,448 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,863 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,720,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 8,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,599,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FFT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,733 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,439,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $564.68 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $576.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $540.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $515.72. The company has a market cap of $514.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.65, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted 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 return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MA. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Macquarie lifted their target price on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard 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.