Optas LLC Purchases 95 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Optas LLC boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,072 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.6% of Optas LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Optas LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $83,644,000. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 880 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 902.5% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 270,806 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $142,598,000 after acquiring an additional 243,794 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,686 shares of company stock valued at $26,430,428 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Macquarie dropped their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $610.00.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $561.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $511.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $594.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $555.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $543.96.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 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.