Bard Financial Services Inc. Lowers Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Bard Financial Services Inc. cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 14.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 635 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 846 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Macquarie lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total value of $8,220,537.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,258 shares of company stock worth $20,885,067 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MA stock opened at $589.64 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $591.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $537.58 billion, a PE ratio of 42.45, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $549.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $542.89.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.31 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Mastercard

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.