Rathbones Group PLC Sells 6,777 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC sold 6,777 shares of Mastercard (a 1.3% reduction), leaving it with 532,453 shares worth about $304 million and making Mastercard roughly 0.9% of Rathbones’ portfolio.
• Mastercard beat earnings last quarter with EPS of $4.76 versus $4.24 expected and revenue of $8.81 billion (up 17.5% YoY); the stock has a market cap around $440 billion and an average analyst price target of $664.40 with a consensus "Buy" rating.
• Mastercard declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share (annualized $3.48), with an ex-dividend date of April 9 and payment on May 8, implying a yield of about 0.7%.

Rathbones Group PLC reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 532,453 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,777 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 0.9% of Rathbones Group PLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Rathbones Group PLC owned 0.06% of Mastercard worth $303,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Robbins Farley boosted its position in Mastercard by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.2% during the third quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 841 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the third quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 1,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% in the third quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,091 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $621,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 20.0% in the second quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $700.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Compass Point raised shares of Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $664.40.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $493.55 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $440.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $516.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $544.30.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The company had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.07%.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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