Latitude Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Latitude Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,338 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 26 shares during the period. Latitude Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Retirement Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $319,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.4% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 372 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Martin Capital Advisors LLP lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Martin Capital Advisors LLP now owns 9,528 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,705,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Willis Investment Counsel grew its position in Mastercard by 3.3% in the third quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 16,872 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,331,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.4% during the third quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 98,953 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $48,863,000 after purchasing an additional 8,529 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $603.08.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $565.51 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $576.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap of $519.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $531.61 and a 200-day moving average of $506.04.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to purchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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 issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.