Beacon Financial Group Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Beacon Financial Group lowered its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,537 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its position in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $584.34 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $532.75 billion, a PE ratio of 42.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $588.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $545.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $540.81.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was 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 owns 3,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,394.75. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 a total of 23,207 shares of company stock valued at $12,664,529 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Six 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $610.00.

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.