Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd Invests $455,000 in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 864 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $455,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in Mastercard by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,932 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,597,000 after buying an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $83,644,000. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 55.0% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 2,784 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after buying an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total value of $87,000.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $574.03 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $523.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.33, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $541.68 and its 200 day moving average is $538.59.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $607.86.

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.