Abacus Planning Group Inc. Purchases 166 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 36.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 616 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. Citigroup upped their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Macquarie dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $610.00.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $590.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $537.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.48, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $591.16. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $547.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $541.93.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,258 shares of company stock worth $20,885,067 in the last ninety 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.