Welch Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Welch Group LLC grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,002 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,255 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,900. The trade was a 4.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $5.49 on Friday, reaching $583.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,581,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,610,146. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $588.45. The company 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $543.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $539.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company 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 firm's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $608.57.

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.