Empire Life Investments Inc. Sells 1,811 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments reduced its Mastercard position by 4.2%, selling 1,811 shares and retaining 41,642 shares valued at approximately $21.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.28% of Mastercard.
• Mastercard reported quarterly earnings of $5.04 per share, beating estimates of $4.77, while revenue rose 14.1% year over year to $9.28 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, representing a 0.6% yield.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with the stock carrying an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $661.93 versus its reported price of $563.01. Recent insider sales included transactions by Mastercard’s CEO and another insider under pre-arranged trading plans.

Empire Life Investments Inc. decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,642 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,811 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.2% of Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $21,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Mastercard by 820.0% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in Mastercard by 113.8% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $597.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $632.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $661.93.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $563.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $601.77. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $531.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $516.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $493.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.15 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.84 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.87, for a total transaction of $1,715,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,398,632.92. This represents a 6.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total transaction of $8,838,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,873,475. This represents a 14.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 62,913 shares of company stock worth $35,769,036. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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