Merit Financial Group LLC Has $13.94 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 20.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,439 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,232 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $13,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $818,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553,329 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,817,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4%

MA traded up $2.37 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $584.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,530,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,603,741. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $588.45. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $545.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $540.50. The company has a market cap of $532.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.07, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $610.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.