Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc.

McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,386 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 190 shares during the quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $567.29.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:MA opened at $547.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $551.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $525.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $499.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $502.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.42, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.00%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.