Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stake Boosted by Wesleyan Assurance Society

Wesleyan Assurance Society lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,270 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 1.5% of Wesleyan Assurance Society's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in Mastercard were worth $19,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whalerock Point Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,729,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida grew its holdings in Mastercard by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 18.0% in the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.90.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $1.97 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $564.06. 1,265,258 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,827,254. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $566.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $549.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The company has a market cap of $514.26 billion, a PE ratio of 39.56, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $429.56 and a twelve month high of $594.71.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.32%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total value of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Company 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.