Perennial Advisors LLC Takes $13.57 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Perennial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 25,778 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,574,000. Mastercard comprises approximately 3.0% of Perennial Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,050,291 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $553,052,000 after buying an additional 218,797 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Mastercard by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,304 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,501,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,799,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MA. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. DZ Bank raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $608.57.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA traded up $1.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $579.64. The stock had a trading volume of 766,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,598,644. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company has a market cap of $528.46 billion, a PE ratio of 41.70, a PEG 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. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $543.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $539.17.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. Mastercard's revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard 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 directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,887,900. This represents a 4.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.