Teza Capital Management LLC Sells 2,433 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Teza Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated by 58.4%, selling 2,433 shares and retaining 1,730 shares valued at approximately $948,000.
• A number of analysts recently issued ratings on Mastercard, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $626.54.
• Mastercard reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.15, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 paid on August 8th.

Teza Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 58.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,730 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,433 shares during the quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $626.54.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $584.21 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $572.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $557.52. The company has a market capitalization of $528.13 billion, a PE ratio of 39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. 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 results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.50 EPS. Research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's payout ratio is 20.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,481 shares of company stock worth $32,616,595 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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