Metropolis Capital Ltd Purchases 72,790 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Metropolis Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 23.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 377,235 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 72,790 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 7.7% of Metropolis Capital Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Metropolis Capital Ltd's holdings in Mastercard were worth $206,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whalerock Point Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,729,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $37,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194 shares during the period. Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,022,224,000. Finally, Landing Point Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $981,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $610.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $588.18, for a total value of $5,545,361.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,379,709.18. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,686 shares of company stock valued at $26,430,428 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA traded up $7.49 on Monday, reaching $569.52. 1,738,923 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,612,748. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $594.71. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $555.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $544.04. The company has a market cap of $519.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.01, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Company 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.