Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,501 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 834 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $61,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,580,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,607 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,479,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,694 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,472,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 21,207 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,167,000 after purchasing an additional 4,434 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Macquarie reduced their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Six equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.25.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1%

Mastercard stock opened at $582.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $535.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $535.63. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $584.29. The company has a market capitalization of $531.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider now owns 3,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,887,900. This trade represents a 4.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,207 shares of company stock worth $12,664,529 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.