Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Purchases 20,057 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 547.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,723 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,057 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.9% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Mastercard were worth $13,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total transaction of $87,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,887,900. This trade represents a 4.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,890 shares of company stock worth $27,003,492 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Macquarie decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $610.00.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock traded up $9.66 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $542.63. The company had a trading volume of 3,679,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,650,777. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The company has a market cap of $494.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $559.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $544.81.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.31 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current 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.