Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. Acquires 3,659 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 125.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,571 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,659 shares during the quarter. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $568.38 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $532.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $533.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $518.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92, a PEG 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Macquarie dropped their target price on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $640.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $633.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.25.

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.