Reliant Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Reliant Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,578 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 3.0% of Reliant Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Reliant Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,640,219,000 after purchasing an additional 377,302 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,725,627,000 after buying an additional 912,856 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after buying an additional 282,739 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,139,713,000 after acquiring an additional 817,836 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $610.00.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $590.03 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $547.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $541.73. 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 has a market capitalization of $537.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.48, a P/E/G 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.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total transaction of $85,417.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,024,394.75. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,451 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 37,258 shares of company stock valued at $20,885,067. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.