Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 146,440 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,701 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 5.1% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $77,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 2,805,554 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,383,000 after buying an additional 62,891 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after purchasing an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,510,756 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,325,353,000 after purchasing an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,474,151,000 after purchasing an additional 100,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $576.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $525.22 billion, a PE ratio of 41.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $576.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $542.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $517.21.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share 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 buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Mastercard

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.