Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Kimelman & Baird LLC

Kimelman & Baird LLC trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,650 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,181 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 3.5% of Kimelman & Baird LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Kimelman & Baird LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $43,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $591.00 to $588.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE MA opened at $527.87 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $582.23. The company’s 50 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 quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $481.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.00, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS 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, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership 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.