Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,225,359 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,871 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.4% of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,111,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. First Pacific Financial raised its holdings in Mastercard by 113.8% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of MA stock opened at $543.55 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $480.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $503.99 and its 200 day moving average is $515.80.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on MA shares. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $631.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Eight 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total transaction of $1,047,276.21. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,702,934.17. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their position. 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. In 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 company insiders.

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.