EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $10.16 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,290 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 627 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $40,640,219,000 after purchasing an additional 377,302 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,725,627,000 after buying an additional 912,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $9,800,202,000 after buying an additional 282,739 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,139,713,000 after acquiring an additional 817,836 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of MA opened at $566.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.76, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business's fifty day moving average price is $532.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $532.35.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The company's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.25.

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.

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