Busey Bank Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Busey Bank reduced its holdings in Mastercard by 1.8%, selling 1,576 shares during the second quarter, leaving it with 87,804 shares valued at approximately $49.34 million.
• Mastercard's earnings report revealed an EPS of $4.15 for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $8.13 billion, marking a 16.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share on November 7th, with a dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Busey Bank lowered its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,804 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,576 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.5% of Busey Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Busey Bank's holdings in Mastercard were worth $49,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $42,503,787,000 after acquiring an additional 365,537 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,421,213,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,015,557,000 after purchasing an additional 907,184 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Mastercard by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA traded down $2.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $583.88. 6,744,713 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,498,610. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $577.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $559.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $527.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $630.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,717 shares of company stock worth $22,684,831. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard 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.