Bard Financial Services Inc. Sells 635 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bard Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 14.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,665 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 635 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $946,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 676 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 846 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $610.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 37,258 shares of company stock valued at $20,885,067. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded down $3.13 during trading on Thursday, hitting $587.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 752,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,989. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $551.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $543.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $535.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 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.