Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 20.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 400,546 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,419 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 0.7% of Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $210,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whalerock Point Partners LLC lifted its stake 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. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 368,690 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $194,141,000 after acquiring an additional 9,611 shares during the period. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,237 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $35,932,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $37,841,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares during the period. Finally, Courier Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $3,867,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total value of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.25.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $568.38 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The company has a market cap of $518.20 billion, a PE ratio of 40.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $532.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $533.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.32%.

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.