Voyager Global Management LP Reduces Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Voyager Global Management LP trimmed its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 79.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,000 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 190,000 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 1.1% of Voyager Global Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Voyager Global Management LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $26,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 65 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FPC Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 483.3% during the 4th quarter. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 70 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total value of $8,678,774.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,692,629.36. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,524 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,292.32. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $535.66 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $428.86 and a 52-week high of $582.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $488.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $534.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $529.64.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price objective (up previously from $614.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna raised their target price on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $607.96.

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.