Sarasin & Partners LLP Has $350.48 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 794,456 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,575 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 3.1% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $350,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. VitalStone Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 60 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 108,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.21, for a total transaction of $49,378,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,863,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,372,453,050.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 108,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.21, for a total value of $49,378,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 94,863,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,372,453,050.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 5,216 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.71, for a total transaction of $2,330,039.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,782,397.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,627,175 shares of company stock valued at $730,399,436. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $468.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,922,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,490,054. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $448.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $458.23. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $359.77 and a one year high of $490.00. The firm has a market cap of $435.88 billion, a PE ratio of 37.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $490.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $524.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $520.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.91.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.