Caxton Associates LLP Buys Shares of 3,503 Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has made a new investment in Mastercard Incorporated, acquiring 3,503 shares valued at approximately $1.92 million.
• Mastercard reported a strong quarterly performance, with $8.13 billion in revenue and $4.15 earnings per share, surpassing analysts’ expectations.
• The company's recent dividend of $0.76 per share reflects an annual yield of 0.5%, with a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,503 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,920,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price target on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $626.54.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA traded up $7.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $587.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,186,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,758,871. The business's fifty day moving average is $573.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $558.03. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $530.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.61, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.50 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend 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%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard 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 sale, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,053 shares of company stock worth $27,071,234. 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.