West Paces Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 457 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,096,470,000 after purchasing an additional 742,076 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position 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 valued at $8,974,478,000 after purchasing an additional 676,452 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Mastercard by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,803,956,000 after purchasing an additional 605,909 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,595,559,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,510,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,181,964,000 after acquiring an additional 306,663 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.00, for a total transaction of $136,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,572,202. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.15, for a total transaction of $50,743,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,432,308 shares in the company, valued at $44,541,179,602.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,025,228 shares of company stock valued at $1,366,000,650. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $3.27 on Wednesday, hitting $452.38. 2,451,059 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,440,302. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $452.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $452.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $359.77 and a 52 week high of $490.00. The company has a market cap of $420.54 billion, a PE ratio of 36.00, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.09.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.26 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.91.

Mastercard Company 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.