Beck Mack & Oliver LLC Buys 2,355 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Beck Mack & Oliver LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 2.4%, purchasing an additional 2,355 shares, bringing its total to 99,421 shares worth approximately $54.5 million.
• A consensus of analysts has rated Mastercard stock as a Moderate Buy, with an average target price of $617.93 and several analysts recently upgraded their ratings for the stock.
• In its latest earnings report, Mastercard exceeded expectations with $4.15 EPS and $8.13 billion in revenue for the quarter, reflecting a 16.8% year-over-year increase.

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,421 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,355 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 1.1% of Beck Mack & Oliver LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $54,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,294. This represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 73,532 shares of company stock valued at $40,837,132 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MA shares. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $623.03.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $592.61. 1,959,324 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,363,363. The company has a market cap of $535.73 billion, a PE ratio of 39.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $570.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $557.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $465.59 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

About Mastercard

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.