Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 427,697 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 49,387 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $188,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,452 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,429,000 after purchasing an additional 3,306 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 62,553 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,680,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 213.2% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 8,456 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,607,000 after acquiring an additional 5,756 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 41,250 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $19,865,000 after acquiring an additional 2,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,000,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. William Blair raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Compass Point assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.88.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of MA traded down $1.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $476.12. The stock had a trading volume of 2,116,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,444,963. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $359.77 and a fifty-two week high of $490.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $456.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $459.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The firm has a market cap of $442.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.10.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.99%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total transaction of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 90,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.80, for a total value of $42,192,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 91,649,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,965,195,590.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,423,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,167,931 shares of company stock valued at $531,284,982. Company insiders own 0.10% 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.