Marathon Asset Management Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Marathon Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 116,137 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 21,131 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 1.6% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $57,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 14.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 20,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $9,897,000 after purchasing an additional 2,556 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $608,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its position in Mastercard by 48.6% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 4,928 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.2% during the first quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 734,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $353,897,000 after purchasing an additional 15,756 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,938,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $545.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $524.64.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.0 %

MA opened at $513.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $477.74 billion, a PE ratio of 40.85, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $359.77 and a 1-year high of $517.04. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $485.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $463.95.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 179.78% and a net margin of 46.45%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.99%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.10, for a total value of $2,310,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 17,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,440,885.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 13,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 340,809 shares of company stock worth $159,610,703 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Mastercard

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.