Fire Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,014 Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,014 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $534,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 377,302 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $9,800,202,000 after purchasing an additional 282,739 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Mastercard by 9.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 817,836 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on MA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $608.57.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $575.60 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $428.86 and a one year high of $588.45. The stock has a market cap of $524.78 billion, a PE ratio of 41.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $542.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $538.84.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its 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 the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total value of $85,417.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,394.75. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,207 shares of company stock valued at $12,664,529. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard 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.