Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Cuts Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 278,843 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 24,046 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $146,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in Mastercard by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,932 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,597,000 after buying an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,644,000. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Berkshire Bank grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 2,784 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total value of $87,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,887,900. This represents a 4.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.0%

MA traded up $5.49 on Friday, hitting $583.27. The company had a trading volume of 4,581,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,615,375. The firm has a market cap of $531.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.99, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $588.45. The company's fifty day moving average price is $543.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $539.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.