Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 8,730 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 700,597 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 8,730 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 1.5% of Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.08% of Mastercard worth $384,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Addison Advisors LLC increased 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 buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted 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. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 676 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 846 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $610.00.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total value of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,196,757.55. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total value of $85,417.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,024,394.75. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,258 shares of company stock valued at $20,885,067 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $1.99 on Thursday, hitting $588.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,983,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,602,282. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $551.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $543.22. The company has a market capitalization of $536.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current 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.