Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Acquires Shares of 1,853 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,853 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,016,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total transaction of $85,417.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,024,394.75. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MA. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Macquarie reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Six investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $610.00.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $584.76. 1,479,651 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,601,280. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $545.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $540.81. 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 Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $588.45. The company has a market capitalization of $533.13 billion, a PE ratio of 42.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.