Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 312,615 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 44,914 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 1.1% of Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $164,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $215,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 10,329 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,439,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,244,000. Finally, Hall Laurie J Trustee lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 14,737 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,760,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. 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 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.25.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:MA opened at $585.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $533.61 billion, a PE ratio of 42.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $588.45. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $536.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $536.43.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total transaction of $87,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,900. The trade was a 4.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,207 shares of company stock valued at $12,664,529. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Mastercard

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.