Fulton Bank N.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fulton Bank N.A. lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,478 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 591 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $16,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $6,022,224,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,508,636,000 after buying an additional 8,213,123 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $837,017,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 79,739.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,555,277 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $818,962,000 after buying an additional 1,553,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $580.56 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $529.30 billion, a PE ratio of 41.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $544.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $540.21. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $588.45.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 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 company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $630.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Macquarie decreased 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total value of $87,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,887,900. The trade was a 4.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,207 shares of company stock valued at $12,664,529. Corporate insiders own 0.10% 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.