Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Purchases 119,121 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI significantly increased its investment in Mastercard, acquiring an additional 119,121 shares, which boosted its total holdings by 879.3% to 132,668 shares, valued at approximately $72.7 million.
• Mastercard reported impressive quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $4.15, surpassing the estimated $4.05, alongside a 16.8% year-over-year revenue growth to $8.13 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, with a yield of 0.5%, and a current dividend payout ratio of 20.50%.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 879.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,668 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 119,121 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.4% of Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Mastercard were worth $72,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $4,508,636,000 after acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $617,303,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $561,313,000. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 50,438.6% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 981,460 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $516,807,000 after acquiring an additional 979,518 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,603 shares of company stock worth $20,265,667 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $13.20 on Friday, hitting $574.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,907,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,618,541. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $563.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $553.24. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $453.46 and a 1 year high of $594.71. The company has a market capitalization of $523.70 billion, a PE ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 2.30 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 (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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%. The company 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 posted $3.50 EPS. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated 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, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $615.33.

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.