Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Holdings Boosted by First Financial Bankshares Inc

Key Points

• First Financial Bankshares Inc increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.7%, owning a total of 66,074 shares worth approximately $36.22 million.
• Mastercard reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with $4.15 EPS and $8.13 billion in revenue, surpassing analysts' estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76, reflecting a yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,074 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc's holdings in Mastercard were worth $36,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1,278.6% in the first quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,351 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.9% during the first quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 24,570 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $13,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $11,182,000. Marshfield Associates lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the first quarter. Marshfield Associates now owns 562,910 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $308,542,000 after purchasing an additional 6,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beck Mack & Oliver LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.4% during the first quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 99,421 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $54,495,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the 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 directly owned 25,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 59,481 shares of company stock valued at $32,616,595. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $626.54.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $1.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $594.87. 1,653,726 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,779,682. The stock has a market capitalization of $537.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.11, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The business's fifty day moving average is $570.99 and its 200-day moving average is $557.28. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.