Carmignac Gestion Reduces Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

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Carmignac Gestion lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 53.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 111,981 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 130,134 shares during the quarter. Carmignac Gestion's holdings in Mastercard were worth $61,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Macquarie cut their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $617.93.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,196,757.55. This trade represents a 19.38% 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, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.1%

MA stock traded up $6.2280 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $598.1480. The stock had a trading volume of 2,388,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,803,610. The firm has a market cap of $540.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. 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 12-month low of $461.90 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company's 50-day moving average price is $563.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $555.47.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

About Mastercard

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.