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

Addenda Capital Inc. cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 43 shares during the quarter. Addenda Capital Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 487 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,922 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,592,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 655 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Cove Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $1,584,000. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $525.22 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $427.45 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. 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 $482.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $524.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $494.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 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 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

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.