Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Sells 1,126 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,321 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,126 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whalerock Point Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,729,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,862 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 5,612 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $6,022,224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $584.39 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $591.16. 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 firm has a market capitalization 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $548.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $542.56.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. KeyCorp increased their target price on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $610.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,196,757.55. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.45, for a total value of $85,417.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,024,394.75. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,258 shares of company stock valued at $20,885,067. Insiders own 0.09% 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.