Yacktman Asset Management LP Raises Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Yacktman Asset Management LP increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,670 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $42,503,787,000 after purchasing an additional 365,537 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth $11,421,213,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,015,557,000 after acquiring an additional 907,184 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,413,936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $4,238,764,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE MA opened at $553.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $573.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $568.77. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $500.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.33, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.89 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $647.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. The trade was a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.