ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in Mastercard, purchasing 96,141 shares valued at approximately $52.69 million, representing 0.8% of its investment portfolio.
• Mastercard recently reported $4.15 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $4.05, with quarterly revenue reaching $8.13 billion—up 16.8% year-over-year.
• Insiders have sold a total of 38,753 shares in the last quarter, resulting in a value of $20.35 million, while only 0.09% of the company's stock is owned by insiders.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 96,141 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $52,694,000. Mastercard makes up about 0.8% of ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $42,503,787,000 after buying an additional 365,537 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Mastercard by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 worth $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted 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 worth $4,007,373,000 after purchasing an additional 71,874 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,033,571 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,703,667,000 after purchasing an additional 724,887 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the business'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 transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,196,757.55. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,603 shares of company stock valued at $20,265,667. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Macquarie cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $615.33.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock traded up $13.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $574.42. 2,907,568 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,618,541. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $563.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $553.24. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $453.46 and a twelve month high of $594.71. The company has a market cap of $523.70 billion, a PE ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.03.

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 (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 firm had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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