LRI Investments LLC Acquires 31 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,343 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 31 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lagoda Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Lagoda Investment Management L.P. now owns 3,954 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260 shares during the period. Laurion Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $329,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,006,000. J. Goldman & Co LP boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. J. Goldman & Co LP now owns 84,841 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,675,000 after purchasing an additional 22,333 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 400,546 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $210,916,000 after purchasing an additional 68,419 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of MA opened at $568.38 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $582.23. The company has a market cap of $518.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $532.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $533.39.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.31 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price target (up from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, 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 transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.