Bell Asset Management Ltd Sells 5,851 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Bell Asset Management Ltd cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 31.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,723 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,851 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 1.6% of Bell Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,475,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,098,695,000 after purchasing an additional 931,132 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,421,213,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,015,557,000 after acquiring an additional 907,184 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,760,552 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,062,509,000 after acquiring an additional 542,841 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $545.56 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $560.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $568.64. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $489.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Macquarie raised their price objective on Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $713.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $652.50.

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.