Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. Sells 648 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. reduced its stake in Mastercard by 3.1%, now holding 20,360 shares valued at $11.16 million, while several other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions.
• Mastercard reported Q2 earnings of $4.15 per share, beating estimates, with revenue of $8.13 billion—a 16.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76, scheduled for payout on August 8th, representing a 0.5% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 21.32%.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,360 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 648 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 1.2% of Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $617,303,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $561,313,000. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 50,438.6% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 981,460 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $516,807,000 after purchasing an additional 979,518 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA traded up $9.84 during trading on Monday, reaching $569.73. 2,984,635 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,593,600. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $564.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $552.15. The company has a market cap of $519.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $439.59 and a 1-year high of $594.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 20.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of Mastercard 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 in the company, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MA. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $615.33.

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.