Webster Bank N. A. Decreases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Webster Bank N. A. lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,425 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $83,644,000. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,086 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 614 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Macquarie reduced their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $608.57.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $577.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $526.39 billion, a PE ratio of 41.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $543.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $539.17. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $588.45.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total transaction of $87,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,900. This trade represents a 4.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents 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 valued at $12,664,529 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.