Northern Financial Advisors Inc Sells 27 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,517 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in Mastercard by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,319 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,735 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,829,000 after buying an additional 8,513 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp grew its position in Mastercard by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 12,641 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,106,000. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $560,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 142,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.14, for a total transaction of $62,783,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,377,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,612,262,959.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 142,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.14, for a total value of $62,783,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,377,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,612,262,959.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 872,088 shares of company stock worth $395,452,118 over the last quarter. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho cut their price objective on Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $520.00 to $510.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.27.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock traded down $1.00 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $452.06. The stock had a trading volume of 710,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,451,056. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $468.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $439.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $357.85 and a 1 year high of $490.00. The stock has a market cap of $421.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 EPS for the current year.

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.