Balentine LLC Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Balentine LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,001 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 58.1% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 10,908 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,319,000 after buying an additional 4,008 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,967 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,281,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martin & Co. Inc. TN boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Martin & Co. Inc. TN now owns 5,711 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE MA traded down $3.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $456.50. 398,203 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,419,908. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $424.37 billion, a PE ratio of 36.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $466.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $444.30. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $357.85 and a 52 week high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total transaction of $97,450.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,451,580 shares of company stock worth $659,578,327. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MA. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Monday, May 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $531.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $497.78.

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.