Confluence Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 179,049 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,803 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.3% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $94,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth $432,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,940 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD lifted its stake in Mastercard by 41.2% in the 2nd quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 613 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 701 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.7% during the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 617 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price target (up from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $1.66 during trading on Thursday, reaching $524.91. 963,848 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,467,849. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $481.78 billion, a PE ratio of 39.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $523.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $488.98. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $416.53 and a 12-month high of $537.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 23.00%.

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

Mastercard Company 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.