Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,465 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 1.4% of Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,996,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,887,951,416.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.78, for a total transaction of $50,443,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,996,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,887,951,416.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,630 shares of company stock worth $168,746,490 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

MA stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $462.42. 1,963,273 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,212,406. The company has a market capitalization of $431.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $357.85 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $471.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $436.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.46 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.60% and a return on equity of 191.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 22.32%.

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.