Breakthru Advisory Services LLC Buys Shares of 697 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Breakthru Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 697 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $6,022,224,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake 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. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $617,303,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.25.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total value of $87,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,900. The trade was a 4.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,207 shares of company stock valued at $12,664,529. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:MA opened at $569.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $519.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.02, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $588.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $539.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $537.40.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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.