Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has a stake of approximately **$4.97 billion** in Mastercard, making it the 18th largest holding of the firm after it trimmed its position by **0.9%** during the first quarter.
• Mastercard's recent quarterly earnings showed an **EPS of $4.15**, surpassing estimates, and the company's quarterly revenue increased by **16.8%** year-over-year.
• Insiders have been selling shares recently, with **38,453 shares** sold totaling approximately **$20.18 million** over the last ninety days, while insider ownership is currently at **0.09%**.

Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,069,956 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 79,225 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.7% of Northern Trust Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.99% of Mastercard worth $4,971,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $42,503,787,000 after buying an additional 365,537 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,508,636,000 after buying an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $4,238,764,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,610,333 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,007,373,000 after purchasing an additional 71,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,033,571 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,703,667,000 after purchasing an additional 724,887 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $617.93.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded up $6.2280 on Friday, reaching $598.1480. The stock had a trading volume of 2,388,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,623,511. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $461.90 and a 12-month high of $601.77. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $564.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $555.73. The company has a market cap of $540.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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