Giverny Capital Inc. Buys 768 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Giverny Capital Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.9% in the first quarter, now holding 27,043 shares worth approximately $14.8 million.
• Mastercard reported strong quarterly earnings with $4.15 EPS, surpassing expectations of $4.05 EPS and a revenue of $8.13 billion.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook on Mastercard, with a majority rating it as "buy" and setting an average price target of $617.93.

Giverny Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,043 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 768 shares during the quarter. Giverny Capital Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $14,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,367,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 38.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after buying an additional 3,765,378 shares during the period. Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,628 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,373,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares during the period. Finally, Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 917 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $582.06 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a market capitalization of $526.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.03. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $461.90 and a 12 month high of $594.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $563.30 and a 200-day moving average of $554.61.

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 net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. Mastercard's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 20.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MA shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $617.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 959 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at $14,630,844.40. This represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 12,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,064,815.17. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,453 shares of company stock worth $20,178,667 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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