Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,771 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,933 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $58,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Mastercard by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,108,000 after purchasing an additional 7,452 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,074 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,145,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 31,970 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $16,835,000 after buying an additional 10,651 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.00, for a total value of $173,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,669,203. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,441 shares of company stock valued at $20,173,035 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $640.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $611.50.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $561.96 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $428.86 and a 1-year high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $512.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $564.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $545.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The credit services provider reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.32%.

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.