DnB Asset Management AS Has $327.91 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• DnB Asset Management AS has reduced its stake in Mastercard by 43.1%, selling 453,785 shares and now holding approximately 598,249 shares.
• Mastercard reported quarterly earnings of $4.15 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $4.05, alongside a revenue increase of 16.8% year-over-year.
• Investment firms have significantly adjusted their positions in Mastercard, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by 65,631.5% during the same quarter.

DnB Asset Management AS lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 43.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 598,249 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 453,785 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 1.5% of DnB Asset Management AS's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. DnB Asset Management AS owned 0.07% of Mastercard worth $327,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,683,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida increased its stake in Mastercard by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,766,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 22,640 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $12,409,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of MA traded down $11.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $584.21. 2,432,106 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,252,842. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $572.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $557.52. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $528.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. Mastercard's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,481 shares of company stock worth $32,616,595 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. 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, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.