IFM Investors Pty Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd's stake in Mastercard Incorporated was reduced by 1.3% during the first quarter, now holding 155,712 shares valued at $85.35 million.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in Mastercard, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by over 65,000%, now owning over 8 million shares worth approximately $4.51 billion.
• Mastercard's recent quarterly earnings report exceeded analyst expectations, posting $4.15 EPS on revenues of $8.13 billion, marking a 16.8% year-over-year increase.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 155,712 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,127 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.9% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Mastercard were worth $85,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth $27,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth $31,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE MA traded down $7.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $580.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,242,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,763,323. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $525.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $574.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $558.24.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was 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 $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,094 shares of company stock valued at $26,521,861 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MA. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus 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.