Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 24,013 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC trimmed its Mastercard stake by 1.5% in the first quarter, selling 24,013 shares and ending with 1,573,735 shares worth about $785.6 million.
• Several insiders also sold shares recently, including Sandra A. Arkell and Raj Seshadri, with total insider sales of 7,005 shares valued at about $3.69 million over the last 90 days.
• Mastercard reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while analysts remain bullish with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $653.92.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,573,735 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 24,013 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.4% of Hsbc Holdings PLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.18% of Mastercard worth $785,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,678,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 590 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total transaction of $1,047,276.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $543.55 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $503.99 and its 200 day moving average is $516.23. The stock has a market cap of $480.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.73 earnings per share. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 20.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $597.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $679.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Clear Str raised shares of Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $631.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $671.00 to $664.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $653.92.

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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