Martin Currie Ltd. Acquires 3,885 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Martin Currie Ltd. increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.5%, now holding 161,364 shares worth approximately $88.45 million, representing 3.6% of its portfolio.
• Mastercard reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.15 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $8.13 billion, up 16.8% from the previous year.
• Several analysts have upgraded their price targets for Mastercard, with the average price target now at $615.33 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Martin Currie Ltd. grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 161,364 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 3.6% of Martin Currie Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Martin Currie Ltd.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $88,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total value of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,196,757.55. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,453 shares of company stock worth $20,178,667 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Macquarie reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 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 given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $617.93.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of MA traded up $1.6290 on Tuesday, reaching $585.7690. 2,331,409 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,802,827. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $563.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $554.81. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $461.90 and a 12 month high of $594.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $529.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.