North Star Asset Management Inc. Purchases 151 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

North Star Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $21,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction 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 owns 3,255 shares in the company, valued at $1,887,900. This trade represents a 4.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.0%

MA stock opened at $564.23 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $588.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $540.36 and its 200-day moving average is $537.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $514.41 billion, a PE ratio of 40.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

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

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.