Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases New Position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired 34,987 shares of Mastercard, valued at approximately $19.2 million, during the first quarter, making it the 15th largest position in its portfolio.
• Insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares at an average price of $353.05 on June 20, reducing his ownership by 13.89%, while Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick also sold shares, indicating notable insider activity.
• Mastercard reported a 14.2% year-over-year revenue growth with $7.25 billion for the quarter and a net margin of 45.21%, following a positive earnings surprise with EPS of $3.73, beating expectations.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 34,987 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $19,177,000. Mastercard comprises 0.8% of Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.6% during the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 718 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the first quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 632 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% in the first quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% in the first quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 986 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded down $8.10 on Friday, reaching $558.37. 2,232,345 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,823,854. The company's 50-day moving average price is $564.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $551.39. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $439.59 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $509.07 billion, a PE ratio of 39.23, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.02.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 196.87% and a net margin of 45.21%. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total transaction of $549,372.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total value of $8,220,537.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,196,757.55. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,753 shares of company stock worth $20,351,084. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $615.33.

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.