Sapient Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

by · The Cerbat Gem

Sapient Capital LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Free Report) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,083 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,197 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 0.9% of Sapient Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $52,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in Mastercard by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 70,472 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,108,000 after acquiring an additional 7,452 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 8,825 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,647,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, WBI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $905,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,094 shares of company stock valued at $26,521,861. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $586.63 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $575.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $558.53. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $530.32 billion, a PE ratio of 39.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $650.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $630.89.

Read Our Latest Analysis on MA

About Mastercard

(Free Report)

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.

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