Capital Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 44.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,141 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,694 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised 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. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, 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. Seven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $610.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,258 shares of company stock valued at $20,885,067. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.2%

MA traded up $1.24 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $590.78. The company had a trading volume of 2,237,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,601,972. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $549.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $542.89. The stock has a market cap of $538.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.53, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $594.67.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard 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.