E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Decreases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 91,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,669 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 1.1% of E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $46,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 820.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 113.8% during 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 period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $561.79 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $523.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $515.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $492.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.90, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.81 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Clear Str upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $701.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $661.93.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 3,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.87, for a total value of $1,715,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,398,632.92. The trade was a 6.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 sale, the insider owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,913 shares of company stock worth $35,769,036. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.