Czech National Bank Buys 11,215 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• The Czech National Bank increased its stake in Mastercard by 6.0% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 11,215 shares, bringing its total holdings to 198,270 shares valued at approximately $111.4 million.
• Insider trading took place with Director Julius Genachowski and insider Raj Seshadri selling shares, reducing their holdings by 3.55% and 7.85%, respectively, in recent transactions.
• Mastercard has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $3.04 and a yield of 0.5%, with a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 198,270 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,215 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 0.9% of Czech National Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Czech National Bank's holdings in Mastercard were worth $111,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $31,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,094 shares of company stock worth $26,521,861 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $583.30 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $574.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $558.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $527.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. Mastercard's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $626.54.

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.

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