First Foundation Advisors Trims Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

First Foundation Advisors trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 34,664 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,142 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.7% of First Foundation Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $19,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Vulcan Value Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,233,000 after acquiring an additional 28,331 shares in the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 153.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $130,902,000 after purchasing an additional 9,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 309,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $175,872,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $500.18 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $480.50 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $505.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $533.04. The company has a market cap of $441.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.73 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $631.00 price objective for the company. Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 target price on shares of Mastercard and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price target for the company. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.00.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.