Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,603 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the third quarter worth about $236,000. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Solidarity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 23.6% during the third quarter. Solidarity Wealth LLC now owns 18,629 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,375,000 after buying an additional 3,562 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its position in Mastercard by 8.1% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 7,126 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,821,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Trust Co grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 82.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 7,723 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

MA stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $462.42. 1,963,273 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,212,406. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $357.85 and a one year high of $490.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $431.39 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $471.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $436.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,996,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,887,951,416.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total value of $50,443,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,996,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,887,951,416.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 13,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.06, for a total transaction of $6,230,132.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,388,649.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,630 shares of company stock worth $168,746,490 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

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.