Alliancebernstein L.P. Reduces Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in Mastercard by 7.5%, selling 243,916 shares, and now holds approximately 3 million shares worth about $1.65 billion.
• Mastercard's latest earnings report showed a profit of $4.15 earnings per share, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 16.8% year-over-year revenue increase to $8.13 billion.
• The company's stock maintains a market capitalization of $535.25 billion and has an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of around $623.03.

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,015,791 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 243,916 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.6% of Alliancebernstein L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.33% of Mastercard worth $1,653,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in 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. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $37,108,000 after acquiring an additional 7,452 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Trustco Bank Corp N Y bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $626.54.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA traded down $11.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $584.21. 2,432,106 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,252,842. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $572.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $557.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $528.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.39, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,481 shares of company stock worth $32,616,595 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.