Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is NS Partners Ltd's 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• NS Partners Ltd reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated by 2.7%, selling 2,976 shares, leaving it with 105,899 shares valued at approximately $58 million.
• Several hedge funds notably increased their investments in Mastercard during the first quarter, with Citigroup raising its stake by 67.0%.
• Mastercard announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 to be paid on August 8th, with a current yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

NS Partners Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 105,899 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,976 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 2.6% of NS Partners Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. NS Partners Ltd's holdings in Mastercard were worth $58,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,603 shares of company stock worth $20,265,667. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $615.33.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA traded up $13.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $574.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,907,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,618,541. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $563.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $553.43. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $453.46 and a one year high of $594.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $523.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

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 (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 company had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio 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.