Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Has $10.66 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,995 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 2.0% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $236,000. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Solidarity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Solidarity Wealth LLC now owns 18,629 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,375,000 after acquiring an additional 3,562 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 7,126 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,821,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 82.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 7,723 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. TD Cowen started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.23.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MA traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $462.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,963,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,212,406. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $471.35 and a 200 day moving average of $436.10. The company has a market cap of $431.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 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 business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,541,179,602.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value 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 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.