Natural Investments LLC Sells 1,769 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Natural Investments LLC has reduced its stake in Mastercard by 14.2%, now owning 10,653 shares valued at approximately $5.986 million.
• Mastercard's recent earnings showed a significant revenue increase of 16.8% year-over-year, reporting $4.15 earnings per share which exceeded expectations.
• Institutional investors now hold 97.28% of Mastercard's stock, reflecting a strong investment interest from major firms.

Natural Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,653 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,769 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.5% of Natural Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Natural Investments LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $11,421,213,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 38.6% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 3,493.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 934,110 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $524,914,000 after purchasing an additional 908,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.7% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 907,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MA. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $634.04.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $556.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $581.01 and a 200-day moving average of $562.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $503.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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