Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Takes Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 162,688 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $81,289,000. Mastercard makes up 1.2% of Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd lifted its position in Mastercard by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 139,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,089,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,902,000 after purchasing an additional 9,795 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 396.3% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 46,145 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,343,000 after purchasing an additional 36,848 shares during the period. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,328,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,625,225. This trade represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their target price on Mastercard from $671.00 to $664.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $640.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, 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 target on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.92.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $551.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $486.98 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.73. 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 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $503.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $516.04.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Mastercard 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.