Baillie Gifford & Co. Decreases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in Mastercard by 9.3%, now owning approximately 1.6 million shares valued at $894 million.
• Mastercard reported a 14.2% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share surpassing estimates at $3.73 for the last quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.54%, set to be paid on August 8th.

Baillie Gifford & Co. decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,631,605 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 166,333 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.8% of Baillie Gifford & Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.18% of Mastercard worth $894,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 911 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $612.90.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $567.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 860,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,806,602. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $565.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $550.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $439.59 and a 1 year high of $594.71. The company has a market capitalization of $517.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.76, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.32%.

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.