Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Sells 13,290 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Mastercard by 4.1%, selling 13,290 shares and now holding 308,241 shares valued at approximately $168.95 million.
• Mastercard's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with a reported EPS of $3.73, and a revenue of $7.25 billion, marking a 14.2% year-over-year increase.
• The stock currently holds a Moderate Buy rating from analysts, with an average target price of $612.90 amid various recent price adjustments by brokerages.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lowered its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 308,241 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 13,290 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $168,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $615.33.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE MA traded down $8.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $557.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,976,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,823,143. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $508.52 billion, a PE ratio of 39.12, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $564.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $551.39. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 21.32%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $34,196,757.55. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.