TFB Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

TFB Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 58.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 562 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 794 shares during the quarter. TFB Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 5,308 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,264,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,364 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 18,296 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,804,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,296 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock traded up $3.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $481.57. The company had a trading volume of 2,214,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,325,334. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $465.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $426.84. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $355.82 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The stock has a market cap of $449.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.71, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.32%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase $11.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MA. Raymond James increased their price target on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Mastercard from $476.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $425.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $479.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 8,900 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.26, for a total value of $3,829,314.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $20,003,217.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 8,900 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.26, for a total value of $3,829,314.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at $20,003,217.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,628 shares of company stock worth $23,309,067. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.