Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 6,462 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L.P. reduced its stake in Mastercard by 8.4%, selling 6,462 shares and now holding 70,342 shares, accounting for about 1.0% of its investment portfolio.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded their price targets for Mastercard, with Wells Fargo raising it from $625 to $650 and KeyCorp from $635 to $660, reflecting strong market confidence.
• Mastercard recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76, which translates to an annual yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Martingale Asset Management L P trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,342 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,462 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.0% of Martingale Asset Management L P's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Mastercard were worth $38,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. TFB Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.1% during the first quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,571 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 9,845 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $5,396,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $298,000. Frisch Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 636 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GDS Wealth Management raised its position in Mastercard by 53.2% in the first quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 1,172 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $617.93.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $592.2310 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $461.90 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $563.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $555.28. The firm has a market cap of $535.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.93, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,269 shares of company stock worth $30,634,699. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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