First Heartland Consultants Inc. Sells 1,153 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

First Heartland Consultants Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 35.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,068 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,153 shares during the period. First Heartland Consultants Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $882,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 661.5% during the third quarter. Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mastercard from $432.00 to $499.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $497.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 142,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.14, for a total transaction of $62,783,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,377,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,612,262,959.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 142,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.14, for a total transaction of $62,783,880.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,377,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,612,262,959.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.23, for a total value of $134,169.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,817,095.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,448,688 shares of company stock valued at $658,248,007. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $460.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,985,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,647,543. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $357.85 and a 12 month high of $490.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $427.87 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $466.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $443.30.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.34 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 183.70% and a net margin of 46.09%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.23 earnings per share for the current year.

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.