ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,526 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 1.7% of ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 864 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 1,037 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 598 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tufton Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 604 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA traded up $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $443.58. 3,711,610 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,507,301. The stock has a market capitalization of $413.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $469.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $437.74.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective for the company. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the 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 directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the 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 directly owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 583,088 shares of company stock valued at $266,873,978. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.