Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Bought by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Mastercard by 6.6%, owning 274,354 shares valued at approximately $150 million.
• Analysts are optimistic about Mastercard, with several institutions raising their target prices, including Morgan Stanley from $639 to $661, and Citigroup from $650 to $652.
• Mastercard recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing a 0.5% dividend yield for stockholders of record on July 9.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 274,354 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 17,063 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 0.9% of Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $150,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.8% in the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 557,783 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $305,732,000 after acquiring an additional 4,650 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 29,558 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $16,201,000 after buying an additional 4,771 shares during the last quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP now owns 1,596 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $190,000. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 116,317 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $63,756,000 after acquiring an additional 3,981 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE MA traded down $1.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $582.06. 2,263,560 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,583,317. The firm has a market cap of $526.19 billion, a PE ratio of 39.25, a PEG ratio of 2.39 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. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $461.90 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $563.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $554.64.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Macquarie cut their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $617.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $34,196,757.55. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,453 shares of company stock worth $20,178,667 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company 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.