Navera Investment Management Ltd. Cuts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Navera Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Mastercard by 10.4% to hold 639,868 shares, making it the fund's second-largest position.
• Despite the reduction, Mastercard remains an attractive option, with analysts maintaining generally positive ratings and price targets ranging between $634 and $661.
• Mastercard recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76, which represents an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Navera Investment Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 10.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 639,868 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 73,911 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 6.5% of Navera Investment Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Navera Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Mastercard worth $359,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 550.0% in the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 325 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Requisite Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,819 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,007 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $8,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $634.04.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

MA stock opened at $579.24 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $580.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $562.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $523.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.