Wealth Architects LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wealth Architects LLC decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 127 shares during the quarter. Wealth Architects LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $527.87 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $545.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $523.14. 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 company has a market cap of $481.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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 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 yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.