Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Has $350,000 Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 19.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 639 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 105 shares during the quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $818,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Mastercard by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:MA opened at $568.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $556.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $544.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The company has a market cap of $518.32 billion, a PE ratio of 40.93, a PEG 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 (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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Macquarie reduced their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $640.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.00.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $588.18, for a total transaction of $5,545,361.04. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,379,709.18. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,645 shares of company stock valued at $26,979,801. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Company 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.