Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys 4,005 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 70.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,688 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 8,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,565,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in Mastercard by 114.5% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 3,485 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,860 shares during the period. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $497.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $461.70 and a 200-day moving average of $460.35. The company has a market cap of $462.71 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $498.32.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.07, for a total transaction of $50,068,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,672,308 shares in the company, valued at $41,801,697,969.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 111,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.07, for a total transaction of $50,068,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,672,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,801,697,969.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total transaction of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 720,467 shares of company stock valued at $331,875,955 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $505.00 to $480.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.88.

Mastercard Company 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.