Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Stock Position Trimmed by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,151,969 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 15,430 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 3.9% of ING Groep NV’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. ING Groep NV owned approximately 0.12% of Mastercard worth $491,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,448,688 shares of company stock valued at $658,248,007. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA traded up $1.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $460.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,985,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,647,543. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $466.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $443.30. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $357.85 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The company has a market cap of $427.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.23 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Mizuho cut their price target on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Mastercard from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $497.78.

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.