Petredis Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Petredis Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,597 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 122 shares during the period. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 35.7% during the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,794 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,438,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 3,414.9% during the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 59,226 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,128,000 after acquiring an additional 57,541 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 2,861.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,938,000 after acquiring an additional 10,815 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 91.6% in the second quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 5,171 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,281,000 after buying an additional 2,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First County Bank CT raised its holdings in Mastercard by 3.4% in the second quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 1,823 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $804,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $533.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $489.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $496.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.39 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.76 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, November 25th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $567.29.

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.