AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Buys 191,302 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 47.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 592,356 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 191,302 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 1.7% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.06% of Mastercard worth $332,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $573.72 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $518.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $579.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $566.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial set a $638.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $638.96.

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.