Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Hantz Financial Services Inc.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,842 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,163 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $39,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Robbins Farley lifted its position in Mastercard by 50.0% during the third quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 45.2% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $550.64 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $555.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $564.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $494.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.83.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The company had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $656.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Evercore ISI set a $610.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $669.18.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.