Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 91.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,203 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 486,812 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $22,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd raised its position in Mastercard by 7.3% during the first quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 139,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,089,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,902,000 after purchasing an additional 9,795 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 396.3% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 46,145 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,343,000 after purchasing an additional 36,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $1,328,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $543.55 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $480.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $503.99 and a 200 day moving average of $516.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MA. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total transaction of $1,047,276.21. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $8,702,934.17. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.