Sheets Smith Wealth Management Trims Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,353 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer reduced 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 target price (up previously from $565.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, November 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:MA opened at $527.84 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $524.19 and a 200 day moving average of $495.46. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The firm has a market cap of $484.47 billion, a PE ratio of 39.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 23.00%.

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

Mastercard 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.