Swedbank AB Sells 272,354 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Swedbank AB lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 14.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,627,424 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 272,354 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.2% of Swedbank AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $892,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $589.12 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $574.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $558.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $532.57 billion, a PE ratio of 39.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.99. 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) last announced its 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given 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 was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted 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 research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,094 shares of company stock valued at $26,521,861. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.