Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 311 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 311 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $133,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,308,223,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 111,819.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,983,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,080,549,000 after buying an additional 5,977,885 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 43,445.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,252,525,000 after buying an additional 2,929,940 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Mastercard by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,509,328,000 after buying an additional 2,385,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 145.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,960,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,164,263,000 after buying an additional 1,755,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James boosted their target price on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 98 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.52, for a total value of $43,072.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,235 shares in the company, valued at $2,740,407.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total value of $50,743,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,728 shares of company stock worth $68,483,403. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MA stock traded up $0.69 on Friday, hitting $455.39. 2,548,844 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,169,012. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $424.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $471.70 and a 200 day moving average of $433.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $357.85 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued 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 0.58%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 22.32%.

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.