Wesleyan Assurance Society Has $16.28 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Wesleyan Assurance Society lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 25.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,880 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,180 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 1.2% of Wesleyan Assurance Society’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $16,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3%

MA opened at $585.29 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $536.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $536.43. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $588.45. The stock has a market cap of $533.61 billion, a PE ratio of 42.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total transaction of $85,417.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,555 shares in the company, valued at $2,024,394.75. This trade represents a 4.05% 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 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price target (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.25.

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.