Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC Reduces Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Mastercard by 94.0% during the first quarter, from 23,876 shares to just 1,441 shares, now making it the fund's 11th largest position.
• Mastercard reported a 16.8% year-over-year increase in revenue, totaling $8.13 billion for the quarter, along with an earnings per share of $4.15, exceeding expectations.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 94.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,441 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 22,435 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 3.0% of Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $789,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $42,503,787,000 after buying an additional 365,537 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,015,557,000 after buying an additional 907,184 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% during the first 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 buying an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after buying an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,238,764,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $626.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,481 shares of company stock worth $32,616,595. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $1.59 on Thursday, reaching $594.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,650,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,776,202. The company has a market capitalization of $537.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $570.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $557.28. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.