Jackson Square Partners LLC Sells 1,062 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Jackson Square Partners LLC decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,209 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,062 shares during the quarter. Jackson Square Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,651,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Mastercard from $572.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.11.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $543.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $495.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $548.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $525.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a return on equity of 188.47% and a net margin of 45.71%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.89%.

Mastercard announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the credit services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related 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 value of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.