Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Lowers Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,454 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 680 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 1.3% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $28,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldstein Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. grew its position in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,190 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 2,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $527.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $537.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $495.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $484.47 billion, a PE ratio of 39.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. Barclays increased their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

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.