Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC Sells 211 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,659 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Macquarie reduced their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.00.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,207 shares of company stock valued at $12,664,529 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $584.34 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $532.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.07, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. 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 fifty day moving average price is $545.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $540.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $588.45.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.31 earnings per share. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current 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.