Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 704 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,366 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 704 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 0.6% of Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Laurion Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $329,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,006,000. J. Goldman & Co LP raised its stake in Mastercard by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 84,841 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $44,675,000 after acquiring an additional 22,333 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 400,546 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $210,916,000 after acquiring an additional 68,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3,716.6% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 176,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $93,150,000 after purchasing an additional 172,264 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $606.25.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:MA traded up $0.94 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $583.14. 1,438,486 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,823,871. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $584.28. The firm has a market cap of $531.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $534.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $534.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total transaction of $85,417.50. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,207 shares of company stock valued at $12,664,529 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.