Cumberland Partners Ltd Lowers Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd has sold 1,890 shares of Mastercard, reducing its stake by 3.0% to a total of 60,538 shares, valued at approximately $33.18 million.
• Mastercard's stock recently reported a 1.2% decline, with a current trading price of $559.73. The stock has fluctuated between a one-year low of $439.59 and a high of $594.71.
• Mastercard's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $4.15 EPS against a forecast of $4.05, with revenues of $8.13 billion, an increase of 16.8% from the prior year.

Cumberland Partners Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,538 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,890 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 2.6% of Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in Mastercard were worth $33,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% during 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% during 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 period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,610,333 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,007,373,000 after acquiring an additional 71,874 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,033,571 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,703,667,000 after acquiring an additional 724,887 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MA. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. Five investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $615.33.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.7%

Mastercard stock traded down $3.83 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $565.98. The stock had a trading volume of 2,883,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,834,734. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $516.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $442.11 and a 12-month high of $594.71. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $564.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $552.46.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The business 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 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.