Weitz Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Weitz Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 165,070 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 14,000 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 5.0% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $92,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 37.2% in the first quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 535 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the first quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,601 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 9,145 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,112,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 10.0% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 562,630 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $308,389,000 after buying an additional 51,067 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price target on Mastercard and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $652.50.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $540.42 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $563.32 and a 200-day moving average of $569.17. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The company has a market cap of $485.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.44%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were 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 $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.