Scharf Investments LLC Sells 70 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Scharf Investments LLC lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,845 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Macquarie dropped their target price on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.00.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $532.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $559.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $544.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The firm has a market cap of $485.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.05.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 40,513 shares of company stock worth $23,166,463 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.