Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

Key Points

• GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 11.8%, acquiring an additional 1,774 shares, which raised its total holdings to 16,781 shares worth approximately $9.43 million.
• Mastercard's recent quarterly earnings showed strong performance, with an EPS of $4.15 and revenue of $8.13 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Mastercard recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76, reflecting a 0.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,781 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,774 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.6% of GAMMA Investing LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $42,503,787,000 after buying an additional 365,537 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,421,213,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Mastercard by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,015,557,000 after acquiring an additional 907,184 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $4,238,764,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $630.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,717 shares of company stock worth $22,684,831 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE MA traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $584.64. 3,241,619 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,498,610. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $528.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50 day moving average is $577.86 and its 200-day moving average is $559.42.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.