Threadgill Financial LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Threadgill Financial LLC cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,155 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 74 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 8.5% of Threadgill Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Threadgill Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Bornite Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $21,442,000. United Bank boosted its position in Mastercard by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 6,007 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after buying an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Mastercard by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 272,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $97,335,000 after buying an additional 63,040 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,168,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,926,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $425.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $476.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $479.62.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $477.95 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $352.80 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $463.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $426.09. The company has a market cap of $445.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.40, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $11.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 8,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.26, for a total value of $3,829,314.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,003,217.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $435.00, for a total transaction of $1,740,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,712,225. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 8,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.26, for a total transaction of $3,829,314.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,003,217.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,628 shares of company stock worth $23,309,067. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard 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.