LRI Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1,086.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,243 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,054 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. VitalStone Financial LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5 %

MA stock traded down $2.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $466.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,986,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,469,403. The company has a market capitalization of $433.61 billion, a PE ratio of 37.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $450.73 and a 200 day moving average of $458.54. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $359.77 and a 12 month high of $490.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $505.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 5,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.71, for a total value of $2,330,039.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,782,397.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 5,216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.71, for a total transaction of $2,330,039.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,782,397.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 107,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.04, for a total transaction of $47,512,280.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 94,441,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,935,718,404.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,733,175 shares of company stock worth $782,773,546. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.