Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Mastercard by 0.4%, holding approximately 4.16 million shares, which represents 0.6% of its investment portfolio.
• Mastercard reported earnings of $4.15 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a revenue of $8.13 billion, which is a 16.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company issued a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,160,820 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 14,788 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.6% of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.46% of Mastercard worth $2,280,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 12.4% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 68,296 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,435,000 after buying an additional 10,236 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 37,951 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,802,000 after buying an additional 1,888 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $575,000. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 58.4% during the 1st quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 7,130 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,908,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $2.68 during trading on Monday, hitting $584.38. The company had a trading volume of 1,812,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,567,513. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $563.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $554.61. 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 12 month low of $461.90 and a 12 month high of $594.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $528.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 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 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $617.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,453 shares of company stock worth $20,178,667 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.