NFJ Investment Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its holdings in Mastercard by 12.6% during the 1st quarter, now owning 41,492 shares valued at approximately $22.74 million.
• Analysts have given Mastercard a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with target prices ranging from $626.54 to over $670.00.
• Mastercard's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $4.15, beating the consensus estimate, with a revenue increase of 16.8% year-over-year.

NFJ Investment Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 12.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,492 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 5,977 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $22,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $31,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard 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 transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 59,481 shares of company stock worth $32,616,595. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $626.54.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.9%

MA traded down $11.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $584.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,432,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,229,058. The stock's 50 day moving average is $572.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $557.48. 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 market capitalization of $528.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

About Mastercard

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.