Citizens & Northern Corp Sells 254 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Citizens & Northern Corp cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,172 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 254 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 1.2% of Citizens & Northern Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Citizens & Northern Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $25,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $54,000. Raelipskie Partnership lifted its stake in Mastercard by 120.0% in the third quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 110 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. TD Cowen raised 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. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE MA opened at $564.77 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $576.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $535.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $510.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $518.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

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

Mastercard Company 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.