Alley Investment Management Company LLC Sells 38 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Alley Investment Management Company LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,801 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 38 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 2.3% of Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $17,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Mastercard by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,765,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,846,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,782 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $818,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553,329 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,355,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,545,139,000 after acquiring an additional 700,769 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 453,773 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 52.8% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 1,185,081 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $573,017,000 after purchasing an additional 409,334 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $574.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $523.68 billion, a PE ratio of 41.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $543.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $518.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $582.23.

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, 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%. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that permits the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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 given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.11.

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.