Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Purchases 129 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,696 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 129 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in 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 buying an additional 377,302 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $9,800,202,000 after acquiring an additional 282,739 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 817,836 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $552.02 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $563.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $545.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The firm has a market cap of $503.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $640.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Macquarie lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $611.50.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 36,383 shares of company stock valued at $19,035,108. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard 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.