AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC Sells 244 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.0% of AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $3,322,000. Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Unique Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,720 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $512,000. Finally, Marion Wealth Management boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 5,755 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,030,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $566.00 to $572.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $510.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.13.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $505.27 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $425.48 and a twelve month high of $537.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $492.75. 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 company has a market cap of $463.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s 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.