Two Sigma Advisers LP Has $567.64 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,078,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 190,000 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.3% of Two Sigma Advisers LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Two Sigma Advisers LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $567,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DZ Bank upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.25.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1%

Mastercard stock opened at $582.97 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $531.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.97, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $584.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $535.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $535.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total value of $87,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,900. This represents a 4.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,207 shares of company stock valued at $12,664,529. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard 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.