Cim LLC Decreases Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Cim LLC cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 36,384 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,138 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 2.6% of Cim LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Cim LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $18,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its position in Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,444,231,000 after purchasing an additional 72,461,743 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 861.6% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,324,743,000 after buying an additional 3,648,748 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,807,283,000 after buying an additional 997,536 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $497,311,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $563.65 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $511.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $514.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The company has a market capitalization of $498.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.73. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,625,225. This trade represents a 22.71% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $640.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $561.00 to $554.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $671.00 to $664.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.65.

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.