Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,026 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,193 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 2.5% of Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $48,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its position in Mastercard by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 1,929 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 11,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,903,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Summitry LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 144,208 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $75,936,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $281,000. Finally, Momentous Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MA opened at $544.74 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $549.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $525.90. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The company has a market capitalization of $496.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.22, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. 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 approved a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often 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.