Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $173.64 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 13.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 316,790 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 37,947 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $173,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $818,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Macquarie reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $610.00.

Mastercard Stock Down 5.4%

Mastercard stock opened at $538.45 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $558.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $544.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $594.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $490.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.05.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total value of $85,417.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,024,394.75. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,513 shares of company stock valued at $23,166,463 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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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