United Community Bank Sells 45 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

United Community Bank decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,943 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. United Community Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its position in Mastercard by 2.3% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 62,891 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake 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 valued at $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares during the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Mastercard by 15.6% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 337,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,010,430 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,474,151,000 after acquiring an additional 100,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5 %

MA opened at $546.98 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $545.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $520.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $498.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Mastercard declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MA shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

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.