Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 93 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,551 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 16.9% in the third quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $940,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 18,112 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,944,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $905,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.8% during the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 10,120 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,997,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE MA opened at $540.57 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $492.84 billion, a PE ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $550.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $526.92.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Company 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.