S Bank Fund Management Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• S Bank Fund Management Ltd increased its stake in Mastercard by 12.3%, owning a total of 14,373 shares valued at approximately $8.08 million at the end of the last quarter.
• The CFO of Mastercard, J. Mehra Sachin, sold 17,263 shares of the company's stock for over $10.2 million, marking a significant 35.60% decrease in his ownership.
• Mastercard's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" with an average price target of $634.04, supported by various positive analyst ratings.

S Bank Fund Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,373 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.2% of S Bank Fund Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. S Bank Fund Management Ltd's holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MA. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, 1 North Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% 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. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $634.04.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $563.30 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The stock's fifty day moving average is $580.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $563.06. The company has a market capitalization of $509.23 billion, a PE ratio of 37.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

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.

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