Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Mastercard by 7.7% in the first quarter, now holding 267,420 shares valued at approximately $146.6 million.
• Mastercard reported earnings per share (EPS) of $4.15 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $4.05, with revenue up 16.8% year-over-year.
• Mastercard's recent quarterly dividend of $0.76 indicates a 0.5% yield and a payout ratio of 20.50%, contributing to its investment appeal.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 267,420 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 22,238 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $146,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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 reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Macquarie reduced their target price on Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $617.93.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% 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 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $590.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,159,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,693,292. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $567.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $556.47. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $534.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.03. 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 (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date 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.