Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Raises Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 55.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,640,219,000 after purchasing an additional 377,302 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after buying an additional 282,739 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25,540 shares in the company, valued at $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total transaction of $85,417.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,024,394.75. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,513 shares of company stock valued at $23,166,463 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 5.4%

Mastercard stock opened at $538.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $490.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.76, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $558.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $544.42. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (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 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $640.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.00.

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.