Smith Salley Wealth Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.6% of Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $23,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 55.0% in the 1st quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 93 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Mastercard from $570.00 to $593.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.68.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 15,031 shares in the company, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 340,809 shares of company stock valued at $159,610,703. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $507.36 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $491.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $465.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market cap of $471.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.33, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $359.77 and a twelve month high of $518.82.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.99%.

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.