Fisher Funds Management LTD Purchases 18,396 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Fisher Funds Management increased its Mastercard stake by 10.4% in the first quarter, buying 18,396 additional shares and bringing its total to 195,699 shares worth about $97.8 million.
• Mastercard reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.60 beating estimates and revenue of $8.40 billion topping expectations. Revenue rose 15.8% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, payable on August 7, and analysts remain generally bullish with an average rating of Buy and a price target of $656.04.

Fisher Funds Management LTD boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 195,699 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,396 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 2.9% of Fisher Funds Management LTD's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Fisher Funds Management LTD's holdings in Mastercard were worth $97,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 590 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank grew its holdings in Mastercard by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $490.73 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $433.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $498.76 and a 200-day moving average of $521.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $640.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $605.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $656.04.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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