Swedbank AB Reduces Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Swedbank AB has reduced its holdings in Mastercard by 14.3% during the first quarter, selling 272,354 shares, and now owns approximately 1.2% of Mastercard's stock.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors, including Ethos Financial Group and Fortis Advisors, have increased their positions in Mastercard, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• Mastercard reported $4.15 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, indicating a solid financial performance.

Swedbank AB cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,627,424 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 272,354 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.2% of Swedbank AB's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.18% of Mastercard worth $892,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Fortis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 period. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 22,640 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $12,409,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $626.54.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE MA opened at $589.12 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $574.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $558.24. The stock has a market cap of $532.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,094 shares of company stock worth $26,521,861 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard 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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