Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Holdings Raised by ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,526 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 1.7% of ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 661.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 583,088 shares of company stock valued at $266,873,978. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6 %

MA stock traded up $2.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $443.58. 3,711,610 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,507,301. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $469.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $437.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $413.81 billion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $357.85 and a one year high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

About Mastercard

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.