Perennial Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,243 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,399,279,000 after buying an additional 330,872 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after purchasing an additional 676,452 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Mastercard by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,574,347,000 after purchasing an additional 43,881 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,250,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,875,266,000 after purchasing an additional 38,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Mastercard by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,213,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,029,302,000 after purchasing an additional 279,178 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MA. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $532.00 to $533.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total transaction of $62,540,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,762,504,462.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at $12,423,320. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total transaction of $62,540,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,762,504,462.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 720,467 shares of company stock valued at $331,875,955. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $497.74 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $359.77 and a 12-month high of $498.32. The company has a market cap of $462.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $461.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $460.35.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.85 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 EPS for the current year.

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.