LifeSteps Financial Inc. Sells 53 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

LifeSteps Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 53 shares during the quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Passumpsic Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank now owns 5,025 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,646,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 534 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 607 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,068 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,195,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the period. Finally, Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 1,799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $947,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MA shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $557.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap of $511.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $538.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $513.33. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.