Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Acquires 20,996 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 599,636 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,996 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 1.3% of Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $336,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $69,000. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 9.5% during the first quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 878 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its stake in Mastercard by 7.4% in the first quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 2,209 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,211,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $551.98 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $572.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $568.95. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $499.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.26.

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.