AIA Group Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

AIA Group Ltd grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 64.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,605 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,038 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $30,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total value of $1,047,276.21. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the business’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 owned 3,322 shares in the company, 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 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $631.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Clear Str raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $640.00 target price for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $653.92.

Mastercard Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $543.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $503.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $516.23. The company has a market capitalization of $480.27 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.73 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.14%.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.