Challenger Wealth Management Invests $1.44 Million in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Challenger Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,439,000. Mastercard comprises 1.2% of Challenger Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE MA opened at $564.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $514.41 billion, a PE ratio of 40.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $588.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $540.36 and a 200-day moving average of $537.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Macquarie dropped their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price target (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard 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 owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,207 shares of company stock valued at $12,664,529 over the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.