Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $782.26 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,485,580 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 65,816 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.4% of Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.16% of Mastercard worth $782,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Whalerock Point Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,729,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $194,141,000 after buying an additional 9,611 shares in the last quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $35,932,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after buying an additional 138,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,841,000 after buying an additional 1,194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE MA traded down $3.06 on Wednesday, reaching $573.53. The company had a trading volume of 1,034,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,834,470. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $582.86. The stock's 50 day moving average is $533.09 and its 200-day moving average is $534.18. The stock has a market cap of $522.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.29, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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 company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.