Fluent Financial LLC Has $237,000 Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fluent Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 450 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $6,022,224,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 79,739.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Mastercard by 15.2% in 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 buying an additional 1,207,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $617,303,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total value of $87,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,255 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,900. The trade was a 4.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.0%

Mastercard stock opened at $564.23 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $588.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $514.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.62, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $540.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $538.34.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS 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 business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.31 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.25.

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.