Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Has $6.59 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,519 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.4% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $321,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,166 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,512,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $313,000. OV Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. OV Management LLC now owns 5,057 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $509,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of 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 reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.11.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $548.16 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $551.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $527.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $499.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 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, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.