Comerica Bank Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Comerica Bank reduced its stake in Mastercard by 5.4%, selling 11,423 shares, and now holds 199,422 shares worth approximately $109.3 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in Mastercard, with Jump Financial LLC raising its stake by an impressive 335.1%, reflecting growing investor confidence.
• Mastercard reported earnings of $4.15 per share for its most recent quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 16.8% year-over-year.

Comerica Bank decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 199,422 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 11,423 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Mastercard were worth $109,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% in the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the first quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $591.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,480,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,760,902. The stock's 50 day moving average is $565.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $556.05. 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 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The firm has a market cap of $534.75 billion, a PE ratio of 39.89, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value of $549,372.74. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MA. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $617.93.

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.