Sowell Financial Services LLC Has $6.75 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sowell Financial Services LLC lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 674 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Newfound Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 55.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 104 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Avion Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 67.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Mastercard from $372.00 to $342.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Smith Barney Citigroup decreased their target price on Mastercard from $384.00 to $355.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mastercard from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $350.00 to $372.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $352.18.

MA traded up $5.57 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $348.49. 136,929 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,613,189. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $341.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $329.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $199.99 and a fifty-two week high of $367.25. The stock has a market cap of $347.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.12, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.19.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The credit services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.65 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.94 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 43.13% and a return on equity of 114.80%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 8th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 7th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.65%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 13,248 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $4,646,471.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,447 shares in the company, valued at $13,484,516.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 30,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.86, for a total transaction of $10,109,386.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,697,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,843,073,888.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 524,958 shares of company stock valued at $167,058,606. 3.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers related products and services.

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