AQR Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 467,097 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 25,619 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Mastercard worth $245,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,651,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Services of America Inc. now owns 475 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,797 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $618.00 to $665.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $584.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $635.00 target price (up from $591.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $607.96.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE MA opened at $534.39 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $582.23. The company has a market cap of $487.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.47, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $533.35 and a 200-day moving average of $530.55.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 21.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares in the company, valued at $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 insiders.

Mastercard Company 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.

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