Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 26,834 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in Mastercard by 3.8%, selling 26,834 shares and holding a total of 672,663 shares valued at approximately $368.7 million.
• Several institutional investors made significant changes to their positions in Mastercard, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its stake by 65,631.5% to 8.2 million shares, worth $4.5 billion.
• Mastercard reported a strong quarterly performance with earnings per share of $4.15, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 672,663 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 26,834 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.0% of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Mastercard worth $368,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in Mastercard by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $37,108,000 after buying an additional 7,452 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Trustco Bank Corp N Y purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,140,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA traded up $9.84 on Monday, reaching $569.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,984,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,593,600. The company has a market capitalization of $519.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $564.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $552.15.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company'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 business earned $3.50 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 20.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. Finally, Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $615.33.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.