North Star Asset Management Inc. Acquires 151 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $21,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total value of $85,417.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,394.75. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $564.23 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $588.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $540.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $537.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $514.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.62, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Macquarie dropped 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.25.

Mastercard Profile

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.