Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 517,199 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 6,494 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $255,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 120,665.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $660,652,000. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 145.6% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,777,468 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $784,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,616 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at $259,071,000. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 13.3% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,293,617 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,586,107,000 after buying an additional 387,317 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $530.63. The stock had a trading volume of 534,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,441,829. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $500.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $469.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $393.02 and a one year high of $534.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $487.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.10, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.27% and a net margin of 45.26%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. William Blair raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho increased their target price on Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Mastercard from $593.00 to $580.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $540.17.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total value of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 119,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.46, for a total value of $55,746,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 92,033,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,113,923,465.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 327,370 shares of company stock worth $153,495,958 in the last three months. 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.