Spire Wealth Management Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,069 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,226 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.9% of Spire Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $25,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 661.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was 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 approximately $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the transaction, 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 583,088 shares of company stock valued at $266,873,978 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6 %

MA stock traded up $2.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $443.58. 3,711,610 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,507,301. The company has a market capitalization of $413.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $469.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $438.31. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $357.85 and a 12 month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during 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%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.55.

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.