Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 589,361 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 72,858 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 1.3% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $323,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Gibson Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 23.4% during the first quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 616 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,717 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,778,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,047,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 38,233 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,956,000 after purchasing an additional 3,183 shares during the period. Finally, Ibex Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Mastercard by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 21,024 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,524,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value 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. This represents a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,258 shares of company stock worth $20,885,067 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Macquarie cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $610.00.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $584.39 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $548.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $542.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $591.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $532.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.07, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS 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.