Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Sells 188 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 134,708 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 188 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 1.2% of Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $70,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,874,568 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $925,662,000 after buying an additional 241,297 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 2.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 48,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $24,124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Wallington Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $251,000. Fulcrum Capital LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 29,495 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,565,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RAM Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. RAM Investment Partners LLC now owns 974 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MA shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna upped their price target on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $563.61 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $538.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $512.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $517.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

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

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.