D Orazio & Associates Inc. Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 11.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,598 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total value of $85,417.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,024,394.75. The trade was a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,686 shares of company stock valued at $26,430,428. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 4.7%

Shares of MA stock opened at $561.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $511.92 billion, a PE ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $555.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $543.96. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $610.00.

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.