Marathon Asset Management Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Marathon Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,404 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 14,871 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.6% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Marathon Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Mastercard were worth $52,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,765,920. This trade represents a 3.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 310 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.00, for a total value of $173,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,323 shares in the company, valued at $4,669,203. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,383 shares of company stock worth $19,035,108 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MA. UBS Group increased 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. Macquarie lowered their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $611.50.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $6.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $552.02. 3,836,616 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,661,414. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $428.86 and a twelve month high of $594.71. The company has a market cap of $503.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $563.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $545.44.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

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.