Raiffeisen Bank International AG Invests $85.62 Million in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 162,923 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $85,624,000. Mastercard accounts for about 1.3% of Raiffeisen Bank International AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $946,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.25.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of MA opened at $572.89 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $533.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $534.45. The stock has a market cap of $522.31 billion, a PE ratio of 41.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.86.

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

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.