Burney Co. Reduces Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Burney Co. cut its Mastercard stake by 77.4% in Q4, selling 20,870 shares and leaving 6,097 shares valued at about $3.48 million.
• Mastercard beat quarterly forecasts with $4.76 EPS vs. $4.24 expected and revenue up 17.5% YoY, and analysts maintain an overall "Buy" consensus with an average price target of $664.40.
• Institutional ownership is very high (97.28%); Luma Capital opened a new ~ $5.37 million position, and Mastercard announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share (annualized $3.48, ~0.7% yield).

Burney Co. lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 77.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,097 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 20,870 shares during the period. Burney Co.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 572 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,141 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $8,073,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,575 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,754,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luma Capital S.A. SPF acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,369,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Macquarie Infrastructure upped their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $739.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $664.40.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $498.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $444.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $513.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $541.60. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $480.50 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.65% and a return on equity of 203.92%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.07%.

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.

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