Meritage Portfolio Management Lowers Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its stake in Mastercard by 6.5%, now holding 34,552 shares valued at approximately $19.4 million.
• Mastercard recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $4.15 EPS for its latest quarter, surpassing analyst estimates and achieving a 16.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, which will be paid on November 7th, representing a dividend yield of 0.5%.

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 6.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,552 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,404 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 1.2% of Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in Mastercard were worth $19,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $42,503,787,000 after buying an additional 365,537 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,421,213,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,015,557,000 after acquiring an additional 907,184 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Mastercard by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,765,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $4,238,764,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $556.80 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $581.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $562.86. The stock has a market cap of $503.35 billion, a PE ratio of 37.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm 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 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MA. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $634.04.

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.

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