Sentinel Trust Co. LBA Buys Shares of 751 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sentinel Trust Co. LBA purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 751 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Mastercard by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,288,912 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $17,425,665,000 after purchasing an additional 257,312 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after buying an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,375,053 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,043,972,000 after buying an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,800,836,000 after buying an additional 304,293 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,308,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,115,228,000 after buying an additional 64,456 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $564.91 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $541.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $516.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $576.94. The company has a market capitalization of $515.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Macquarie raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

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.