Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Shares Acquired by Rathbones Group PLC

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.8%, owning 557,783 shares worth approximately $305.73 million, which constitutes about 1.5% of its portfolio.
• Mastercard reported earnings of $4.15 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and indicating a 16.8% year-over-year revenue increase to $8.13 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 557,783 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,650 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.5% of Rathbones Group PLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Rathbones Group PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Mastercard worth $305,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whalerock Point Partners LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC now owns 14,678 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,729,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida increased its stake in Mastercard by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,766,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,453 shares of company stock valued at $20,178,667. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $1.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $582.06. The stock had a trading volume of 2,263,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,818,117. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $461.90 and a one year high of $594.71. The company has a market capitalization of $526.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.25, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.03. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $563.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $554.40.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Macquarie dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $617.93.

Mastercard Company 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.