WCG Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,093 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,399,279,000 after purchasing an additional 330,872 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in 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 buying an additional 676,452 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,574,347,000 after buying an additional 43,881 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,250,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,875,266,000 after acquiring an additional 38,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Mastercard by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,213,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,029,302,000 after acquiring an additional 279,178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Compass Point started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $512.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,440,885.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total transaction of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares in the company, valued at $8,440,885.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,965,195,590.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 605,124 shares of company stock worth $280,045,189. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of MA opened at $494.76 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $501.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $464.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $460.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $459.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.99%.

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.