Valmark Advisers Inc. Sells 145 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Valmark Advisers Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,630 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 145 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Addison Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 846 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Fi3 FINANCIAL ADVISORS LLC now owns 736 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $542.63 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $594.71. The stock has a market cap of $494.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $560.33 and its 200 day moving average is $544.91.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on MA shares. Macquarie lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total transaction of $85,417.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,024,394.75. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $535.80, for a total transaction of $508,474.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,021 shares in the company, valued at $7,512,451.80. This trade represents a 6.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,890 shares of company stock valued at $27,003,492 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.