Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. Takes $192,000 Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 449 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $192,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 661.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded up $1.92 on Wednesday, reaching $454.98. 2,332,407 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,469,699. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $357.85 and a twelve month high of $490.00. The stock has a market cap of $424.45 billion, a PE 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $468.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $439.23.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.27.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 200 shares of the company’s 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 owns 97,543,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,527,976,823. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 872,688 shares of company stock valued at $395,722,487. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company 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.