Central Bank & Trust Co. Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Central Bank & Trust Co. lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,003 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 527 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 1.3% of Central Bank & Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,281,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 1,379 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,630 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,040,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 198,270 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $111,416,000 after purchasing an additional 11,215 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 932.0% during the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 277,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $155,657,000 after purchasing an additional 250,160 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,094 shares of company stock worth $26,521,861 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.54.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $583.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $527.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.33, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $574.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $558.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 firm’s revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. 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 currently 20.50%.

About Mastercard

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.