Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 203,499 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $107,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Mastercard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $607.96.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $535.66 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $428.86 and a 12-month high of $582.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $488.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $534.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $529.64. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This trade 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.

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.