Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Has $4.06 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,712 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,121 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,725,627,000 after buying an additional 912,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 282,739 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 817,836 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $580.67 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $538.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $536.73. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $588.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $529.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.80, a PEG 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 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.31 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.25.

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.