Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Position Trimmed by Bath Savings Trust Co

Bath Savings Trust Co lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,258 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 5.5% of Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $53,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $804,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,008,000 after acquiring an additional 6,456 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 200 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $572.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $562.76.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA traded up $1.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $513.32. 906,571 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,059,773. The stock has a market cap of $471.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $523.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $490.70. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $416.53 and a 1 year high of $537.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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 business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.00%.

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.