Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stake Trimmed by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Magellan Asset Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 656,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 43,105 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 4.2% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $369,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $69,000. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 595 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Phillips Financial Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 878 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its stake in Mastercard by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 2,209 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2%

MA stock opened at $551.98 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 firm has a market cap of $499.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $572.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $568.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price target on shares of Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $649.26.

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.