Simplicity Wealth LLC Acquires New Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,132 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $483,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Mastercard by 87.4% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Everett Harris & Co. CA lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 49,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $21,129,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in Mastercard by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,124 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337 shares during the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,853 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,350,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 42,752 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,041,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total transaction of $43,072.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,740,407.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,728 shares of company stock worth $19,479,753 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MA. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $484.82.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of MA stock traded down $2.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $465.38. 2,486,361 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,293,737. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06. The firm has a market cap of $434.15 billion, a PE ratio of 39.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $471.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $431.90. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $357.85 and a 1 year high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Mastercard Company 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.