Baillie Gifford & Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford reduced its Mastercard stake by 6.1% in Q4, selling 95,526 shares and finishing the quarter with 1,464,206 shares worth about $835.9M (roughly 0.16% ownership); institutional investors hold 97.28% of the stock.
• Mastercard beat quarterly estimates, reporting $4.76 EPS vs. $4.24 expected and $8.81B in revenue (up 17.5% YoY), with strong profitability (net margin 45.65%, ROE 203.92%) and a consensus analyst rating of "Buy" with an average price target of $664.40.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 (annualized $3.48, yield 0.7%, ex-dividend April 9, payable May 8), and trades with a market cap of ~$444.8B and a PE ratio of 30.19 within a 52-week range of $480.50–$601.77.

Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,464,206 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 95,526 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.16% of Mastercard worth $835,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Robbins Farley grew its position in Mastercard by 50.0% during the third quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% during the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Tacita Capital Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% during the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Dagco Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Dagco Inc. now owns 66 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $498.80 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $513.49 and its 200 day moving average is $541.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $444.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $480.50 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 15th. Truist Financial set a $611.00 price target on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $685.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group set a $610.00 price target on Mastercard and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $664.40.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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