Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 5,402 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard by 14.6%, selling 5,402 shares and holding 31,633 shares valued at approximately $17.34 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Several other large investors have increased their positions in Mastercard, with Ethos Financial Group LLC boosting its holdings by 19.5% during the same period.
• Mastercard's stock analysts have set a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $626.54, reflecting a positive outlook despite recent fluctuations.

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 14.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,633 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 5,402 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $17,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after buying an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth about $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Mastercard by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $561,313,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Mastercard by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,015,557,000 after buying an additional 907,184 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the sale, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,094 shares of company stock worth $26,521,861 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock traded down $7.98 on Friday, reaching $580.75. The stock had a trading volume of 2,242,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,763,323. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. 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 P/E ratio of 39.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.99. The company 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS 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 business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MA. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $626.54.

Mastercard Company 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.