Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC

Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,251 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 41 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 74.0% during the third quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $533.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $524.54 and its 200-day moving average is $496.49. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $537.70. The company has a market cap of $489.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $515.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $564.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $575.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $533.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $567.29.

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.