Argent Capital Management LLC Sells 6,718 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management reduced its Mastercard stake by 3.7%, selling 6,718 shares and retaining 172,987 shares valued at approximately $95.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 97.28% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $680, despite some target reductions and upgrades from other firms.
• Mastercard reported quarterly earnings of $5.04 per share and revenue of $9.28 billion, exceeding estimates, while revenue grew 14.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, representing a 0.6% yield.

Argent Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 172,987 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,718 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.7% of Argent Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Argent Capital Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $95,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its stake in Mastercard by 861.6% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,324,743,000 after buying an additional 3,648,748 shares during the period. Fundsmith LLP purchased a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at about $639,458,000. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its stake in Mastercard by 147.2% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 1,682,183 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $863,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,671 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Mastercard by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,964,658 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $10,256,368,000 after purchasing an additional 759,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,111,652 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,776,380,000 after purchasing an additional 733,101 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Mastercard from $680.00 to $660.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Dbs Bank upgraded Mastercard to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $710.00 to $688.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $680.00.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA traded up $11.03 on Monday, hitting $563.29. 940,453 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,529,452. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $601.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $571.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $528.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The company has a market cap of $493.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.9 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total value of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 67,618 shares of company stock worth $38,854,630. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated NYSE: MA is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates the authorization, clearing and settlement of electronic payment transactions, while generally not issuing cards or extending credit itself. Its network supports payments made in stores, online and through mobile devices.

Mastercard's products and services include consumer and commercial payment cards, digital payment solutions, payment processing, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, identity verification, data and analytics, and open banking tools.

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