Fermata Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,739 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% in 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 buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MA. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Macquarie reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.00.

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 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $588.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $545.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $540.81.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,207 shares of company stock valued at $12,664,529. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.