Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Parisi Gray Wealth Management

Parisi Gray Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,033 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 2.6% of Parisi Gray Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Parisi Gray Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $25,000. Bollard Group LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. 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. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $479.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 is available at this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 8,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.26, for a total value of $3,829,314.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,003,217.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,628 shares of company stock worth $23,309,067. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded up $1.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $479.20. 148,662 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,408,970. 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 company has a market cap of $447.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $463.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $426.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $355.82 and a 1 year high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 22.32%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, December 5th that allows the company to repurchase $11.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.