Aberdeen Group plc Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 978,911 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 8,551 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.9% of Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $545,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.6% in the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% in the first quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% in the second quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,848 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.8% in the second quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,272 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,276,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 1.8% in the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $556.80 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a market cap of $503.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $581.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $562.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $634.04.

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.