Howard Financial Services LTD. Purchases 135 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,526 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whalerock Point Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,729,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,612 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of MA stock opened at $577.36 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $588.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $543.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $539.17. The company has a market cap of $526.39 billion, a PE ratio of 41.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $608.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,207 shares of company stock valued at $12,664,529 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.