T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Has $432.45 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management decreased its stake in Mastercard by 65.2%, selling over 1.4 million shares, leaving it with 788,972 shares valued at approximately $432 million.
• Despite T. Rowe Price's reduction, other institutional investors significantly increased their positions, with GAMMA Investing boosting its stake by over 65,600% to own more than 8 million shares worth $4.5 billion.
• Mastercard reported earnings of $4.15 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.05, and had a revenue of $8.13 billion, up 16.8% year-over-year.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 65.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 788,972 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,476,682 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.09% of Mastercard worth $432,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business'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 directly owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,636,125.55. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,269 shares of company stock worth $30,634,699 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock traded up $6.2280 during trading on Friday, reaching $598.1480. 2,388,839 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,623,511. The company has a market capitalization of $540.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $564.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $555.73. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $461.90 and a twelve month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $617.93.

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.