Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Buys 145 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.7% of Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 661.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total transaction of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 7,851 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.92, for a total value of $3,736,447.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 47,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,672,828.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total transaction of $7,632,649.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 872,088 shares of company stock valued at $395,452,118. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Mastercard from $433.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $496.27.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $1.71 on Wednesday, hitting $454.77. The stock had a trading volume of 2,306,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,469,559. The stock has a market cap of $424.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $468.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $439.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $357.85 and a 52-week high of $490.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 EPS 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.