Ninety One UK Ltd Buys 50,902 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,084,712 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 50,902 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.7% of Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Ninety One UK Ltd owned about 0.12% of Mastercard worth $594,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Ninety One North America Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 41.4% during the 1st quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 132,029 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $72,368,000 after purchasing an additional 38,644 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Mastercard by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,406 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $8,992,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Planning Directions Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Management Associates Inc lifted its position in Mastercard by 94.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc now owns 2,038 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of MA traded down $13.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $550.04. 3,221,317 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,666,632. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $428.86 and a 52 week high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $568.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $547.67. The company has a market cap of $501.48 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.21% and a return on equity of 196.87%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Macquarie lowered their price target on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $630.00 to $635.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $633.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $611.50.

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.