FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,387 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 748 shares during the quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $4,595,559,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 43,445.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,252,525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,929,940 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,096,470,000 after purchasing an additional 742,076 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after purchasing an additional 676,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,803,956,000 after purchasing an additional 605,909 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total transaction of $62,540,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,762,504,462.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total value of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,817,095.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total transaction of $62,540,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,762,504,462.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,163,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,428,540,870 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA traded up $3.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $448.18. 3,192,350 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,526,183. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $359.77 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $416.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $450.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $453.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MA shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $496.91.

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.