Ascent Group LLC Purchases 1,706 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,874 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,706 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.0% of Ascent Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $13,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $40,640,219,000 after buying an additional 377,302 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $9,800,202,000 after acquiring an additional 282,739 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total transaction of $87,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,255 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,900. This trade represents a 4.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded up $1.44 on Thursday, reaching $577.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,347,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,602,904. The company's fifty day moving average is $542.49 and its 200 day moving average is $538.84. 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 stock has a market cap of $526.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $588.45.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie decreased their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $608.57.

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.