B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

by · The Cerbat Gem

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Free Report) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,666 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,707 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $14,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,255,582 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $13,866,020,000 after purchasing an additional 495,768 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Mastercard by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,377,705 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,620,937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,661 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,643,273 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,529,235,000 after acquiring an additional 274,679 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Mastercard by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 15,843,692 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,509,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,308,223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $425.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Raymond James lifted 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $476.35.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on MA

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, insider Ajay Bhalla sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total transaction of $1,700,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,235 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,649,875. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 54,428 shares of company stock valued at $24,911,617 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $4.01 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $473.17. The company had a trading volume of 786,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,419,379. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $450.89 and its 200 day moving average is $420.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $441.42 billion, a PE ratio of 39.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $340.21 and a twelve month high of $479.14.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 191.22% and a net margin of 44.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Mastercard declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback $11.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mastercard Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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