Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,411 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,980 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 146,108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $62,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738 shares in the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 30,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $12,801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA grew its position in Mastercard by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 7,613 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,247,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 5,813 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MA. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. TD Cowen started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.23.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 480,630 shares of company stock worth $221,479,470 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded down $5.39 during trading on Monday, reaching $457.03. 2,120,953 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,406,817. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $471.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $437.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $426.36 billion, a PE ratio of 38.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

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.