Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda Cuts Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,407 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.6% of Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Absoluto Partners Gestao de Recursos Ltda’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,031,915 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,160,000 after purchasing an additional 138,842 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,501,814 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,800,836,000 after purchasing an additional 304,293 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,238 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,589,000 after buying an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth about $2,284,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $635.00 target price (up previously from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.18.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $559.18 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $428.86 and a fifty-two week high of $582.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $509.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.26, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $532.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $531.37.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 21.89%.

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.