Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Union Savings Bank

Union Savings Bank lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,416 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.9% of Union Savings Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Union Savings Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 74.0% in 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 acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $572.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $618.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $525.22 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $427.45 and a 12 month high of $537.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $482.06 billion, a PE ratio of 39.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $494.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.97%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management 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.