J. Stern & Co. LLP Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,555 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,667 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 5.8% of J. Stern & Co. LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. J. Stern & Co. LLP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $48,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 213.2% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 8,456 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after buying an additional 5,756 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its holdings in Mastercard by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 41,250 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $19,865,000 after acquiring an additional 2,676 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,000,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 96.8% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 593,789 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $253,144,000 after acquiring an additional 292,064 shares during the period. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,228,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total transaction of $62,540,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 92,152,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,762,504,462.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 138,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.19, for a total transaction of $62,540,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 92,152,308 shares in the company, valued at $41,762,504,462.52. 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 13,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.00, for a total value of $6,114,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,423,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 474,124 shares of company stock valued at $219,855,929 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $531.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $540.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $530.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $500.00 to $526.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $528.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.08.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $492.74 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $458.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $466.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $461.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $359.77 and a 52-week high of $501.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.85 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.45% and a return on equity of 179.78%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.99%.

Mastercard 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.