Acadian Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated by 109.3%, now holding 751,416 shares worth approximately $411.8 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Wellington Management, also boosted their positions in Mastercard during the first quarter, highlighting significant interest in the stock.
• Mastercard's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $626.54 from analysts, reflecting positive market sentiment.

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 109.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 751,416 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 392,454 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.2% of Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Mastercard worth $411,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the 1st 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 907,184 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth about $4,238,764,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $626.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.86, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,481 shares of company stock worth $32,616,595. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $584.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $528.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.42, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $573.50 and a 200-day moving average of $557.87. 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 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business's revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

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.

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