Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by WestEnd Advisors LLC

Key Points

• WestEnd Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard by 5.1%, selling 4,196 shares, and now owns 78,118 shares valued at approximately $43.9 million.
• Mastercard reported a quarterly EPS of $4.15, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue reaching $8.13 billion, a 16.8% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $3.04 and a yield of 0.5%.

WestEnd Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 4,196 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.1% of WestEnd Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. WestEnd Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $43,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1%

MA opened at $579.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $523.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50 day moving average is $580.78 and its 200-day moving average is $562.45. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. The business's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 20.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $634.04.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on 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 owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

About Mastercard

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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