Mastercard Incorporated $MA is Veritas Asset Management LLP’s 2nd Largest Position

Veritas Asset Management LLP trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 995,345 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 67,969 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 9.5% of Veritas Asset Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Veritas Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $511,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Mastercard by 49,444.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 637,466,453 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $327,402,770,000 after acquiring an additional 636,179,801 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its position in Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,444,231,000 after acquiring an additional 72,461,743 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 861.6% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,324,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fundsmith LLP bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $639,458,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total value of $1,907,344.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 36,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,403,600. The trade was a 8.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, 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. 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 sold 74,623 shares of company stock valued at $42,544,606 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Clear Str upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $666.64.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded down $8.86 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $570.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,705,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,620,135. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $601.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $499.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $561.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $522.20.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The company’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.14%.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global technology company that operates a payments network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payment transactions, including credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, by providing the infrastructure used to authorize, clear and settle transactions.

Mastercard’s products and services include its Mastercard-branded payment cards, digital payment tools, contactless payment technology and payment solutions for businesses and governments.