E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $640,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 87.4% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 536 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Cross Staff Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Cross Staff Investments Inc now owns 3,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,343,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA boosted its position in Mastercard by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 49,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $21,129,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,124 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,171,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 490 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during 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 have weighed in on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $452.00 to $504.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $496.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.25, for a total value of $97,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,543,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 872,688 shares of company stock worth $395,722,487. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA traded up $1.92 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $454.98. 2,332,407 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,469,699. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $468.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $439.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $424.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 earnings per share for the current year.

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.