Wendell David Associates Inc. Reduces Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wendell David Associates Inc. decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,894 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,125 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 6.3% of Wendell David Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $63,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after purchasing an additional 257,312 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,043,972,000 after buying an additional 453,773 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after buying an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $527.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $483.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $537.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $524.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $496.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

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.