E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Mastercard by 17.9% in Q1, owning 14,127 shares valued at $7.74 million.
• Mastercard's latest quarterly earnings beat expectations, reporting $4.15 EPS and revenues of $8.13 billion, a 16.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76, with a current yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,127 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,147 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 19.2% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 628 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 103,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $56,949,000 after purchasing an additional 3,181 shares during the last quarter. Triglav Skladi D.O.O. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Triglav Skladi D.O.O. now owns 43,358 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $23,763,000 after purchasing an additional 3,639 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $505,000. Finally, S Bank Fund Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,016,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3%

MA stock traded down $1.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $582.06. The stock had a trading volume of 2,263,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,583,317. The firm has a market cap of $526.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.03. 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 1-year low of $461.90 and a 1-year high of $594.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $563.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $554.68.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,453 shares of company stock worth $20,178,667. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports 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 note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.