Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases 378 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,319 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 43,445.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,252,525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,929,940 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Mastercard by 3,339.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 815,506 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $322,867,000 after purchasing an additional 791,799 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,746,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $691,394,000 after purchasing an additional 569,534 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 6.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,153,957,000 after purchasing an additional 515,481 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 30.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,839,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $728,113,000 after purchasing an additional 428,627 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded down $1.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $451.97. The stock had a trading volume of 627,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,450,254. The company has a market cap of $421.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $357.85 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $468.64 and a 200 day moving average of $439.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 147,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.58, for a total value of $65,794,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,230,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,070,761,254.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 147,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.58, for a total value of $65,794,260.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,230,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,070,761,254.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 872,088 shares of company stock valued at $395,452,118 over the last ninety days. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $496.27.

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.