Seven Eight Capital LP Sells 2,127 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Seven Eight Capital LP decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,952 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,127 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.6% of Seven Eight Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Seven Eight Capital LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $5,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 145.6% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $784,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,616 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,253,734 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,096,470,000 after acquiring an additional 742,076 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Mastercard by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,041,685 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,974,478,000 after acquiring an additional 676,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Mastercard by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,608,023 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,803,956,000 after purchasing an additional 605,909 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Compass Point started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $525.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Mastercard from $480.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.08.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $501.22 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market cap of $465.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $462.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $460.52. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $359.77 and a 1 year high of $501.74.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.08. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.06, for a total transaction of $4,072,169.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares in the company, valued at $26,585,476.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.06, for a total transaction of $4,072,169.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,940 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,585,476.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 131,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.46, for a total value of $60,189,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,426,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,466,191,473.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 725,152 shares of company stock worth $334,186,128. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard 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.