Parnassus Investments LLC Has $1.22 Billion Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Parnassus Investments LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard by 15.7%, now holding approximately $1.22 billion worth of shares, making Mastercard 2.9% of its investment portfolio.
• Mastercard's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $4.15 EPS and $8.13 billion in revenue, increasing 16.8% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.5% with a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Parnassus Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,224,314 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 414,871 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 2.9% of Parnassus Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Parnassus Investments LLC owned about 0.24% of Mastercard worth $1,219,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $42,503,787,000 after buying an additional 365,537 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Mastercard by 4.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,015,557,000 after buying an additional 907,184 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Mastercard by 38.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,413,936,000 after buying an additional 3,765,378 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $4,238,764,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock traded down $1.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $590.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 816,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,779,064. 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 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The company has a market cap of $533.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.84, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $570.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $557.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm posted $3.50 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp increased 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $623.03.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% 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 Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. The trade was a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.