Altshuler Shaham Ltd Makes New $26,000 Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,075,358 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,593,025,000 after purchasing an additional 251,516 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,966,348 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,153,957,000 after purchasing an additional 515,481 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.9% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,510,259 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,181,964,000 after purchasing an additional 306,663 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,314,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,104,214,000 after purchasing an additional 56,642 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,665,483 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,989,875,000 after purchasing an additional 107,953 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded up $1.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $454.98. The company had a trading volume of 2,332,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,469,699. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $468.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $439.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $357.85 and a 1-year high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $424.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.08.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.09% and a return on equity of 183.70%. 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 company posted $2.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.94, for a total value of $7,632,649.78. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,832,644.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 147,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.58, for a total transaction of $65,794,260.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,230,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,070,761,254.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 16,037 shares of Mastercard 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 12,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,832,644.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 872,688 shares of company stock worth $395,722,487. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $510.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $496.27.

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.