Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $312.75 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Mastercard by 2.1%, owning 570,582 shares valued at approximately $312.75 million, making it the firm's seventh largest position.
• Mastercard recently reported a quarterly profit of $4.15 EPS, exceeding expectations and showcasing a year-over-year revenue growth of 16.8%, amounting to $8.13 billion.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about Mastercard, with numerous firms issuing "buy" ratings and a target price average of $617.93 for the stock.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 570,582 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 12,185 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 1.6% of Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Mastercard worth $312,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 2.6% in the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the first quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% during the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% during the first quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% during the first quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $623.03.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,269 shares of company stock worth $30,634,699. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

MA stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $592.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,957,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,783,382. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The company's fifty day moving average price is $570.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $557.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $535.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.96, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

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.