West Coast Financial LLC Has $20.97 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

West Coast Financial LLC lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,261 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,082 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 2.4% of West Coast Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $20,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,640,219,000 after purchasing an additional 377,302 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Truist Financial began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $640.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Macquarie cut their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company’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 value of $87,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,887,900. This trade represents a 4.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,207 shares of company stock valued at $12,664,529. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.4%

Mastercard stock opened at $584.34 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $545.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $540.81. The company has a market cap of $532.75 billion, a PE ratio of 42.07, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $588.45.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS 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.