Ibex Wealth Advisors Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ibex Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 21,024 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,404 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 1.5% of Ibex Wealth Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Ibex Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whalerock Point Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,729,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,841,000 after buying an additional 1,194 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,612 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,022,224,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Macquarie lowered their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Seven 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $610.00.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,258 shares of company stock valued at $20,885,067 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:MA opened at $584.39 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $532.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $428.86 and a 1 year high of $591.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $548.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $542.56.

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

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.