Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP has reduced its stake in Mastercard by 2.5%, now holding 630,636 shares, which represents 0.8% of its portfolio.
• Mastercard has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average target price of $617.93.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.15, exceeding estimates, along with a net margin of 44.93% and revenue growth of 16.8% year-over-year.

Korea Investment CORP cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 630,636 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 16,322 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.8% of Korea Investment CORP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.07% of Mastercard worth $345,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 19.5% in the first quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,729,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida grew its holdings in Mastercard by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $617.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,269 shares of company stock worth $30,634,699 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $6.2280 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $598.1480. The company had a trading volume of 2,388,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,623,511. The stock has a market cap of $540.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.33, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $564.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $555.73. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $461.90 and a 12-month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 20.50%.

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.