Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 8.7%, owning a total of 11,628 shares valued at approximately $6.37 million as per the recent SEC filing.
• Mastercard reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.15, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.05, and achieved a 16.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, indicating a annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.5%.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,628 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $42,503,787,000 after purchasing an additional 365,537 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Mastercard by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $4,508,636,000 after acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,238,764,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,610,333 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,007,373,000 after acquiring an additional 71,874 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded up $6.2280 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $598.1480. 2,388,839 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,623,511. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $564.03 and a 200-day moving average of $555.73. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $461.90 and a one year high of $601.77. The firm has a market cap of $540.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.33, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company's revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 20.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MA. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $617.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total transaction of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This trade represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.