Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Trims Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 151,735 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 718 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 4.6% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $64,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 43,445.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,936,684 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,252,525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,929,940 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake 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 worth $322,867,000 after purchasing an additional 791,799 shares in the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 48.4% in the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 1,746,342 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $691,394,000 after acquiring an additional 569,534 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 6.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,153,957,000 after purchasing an additional 515,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,839,088 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $728,113,000 after acquiring an additional 428,627 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 142,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.14, for a total value of $62,783,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,377,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,612,262,959.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 142,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.14, for a total value of $62,783,880.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,377,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,612,262,959.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total value of $134,169.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,817,095.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,023,688 shares of company stock worth $464,057,537. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MA. Evercore ISI upped 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.27.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $1.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $456.64. The stock had a trading volume of 590,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,443,465. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $467.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $439.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $425.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $357.85 and a 12-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 the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Mastercard

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.