Simplicity Wealth LLC Makes New $483,000 Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,132 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $483,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,728 shares of company stock valued at $19,479,753. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded down $2.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $465.38. 2,486,361 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,293,737. The firm has a market cap of $434.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.34, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $431.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $484.82.

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.