Graham Capital Management L.P. Purchases New Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. has invested approximately $17.04 million in Mastercard, acquiring 31,082 shares, which now constitutes about 0.3% of its portfolio.
• Mastercard reported a 17% year-over-year revenue increase in its latest quarterly earnings, with a revenue of $8.13 billion exceeding analyst expectations.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Mastercard, with an average price target of $617.93 after recent adjustments.

Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 31,082 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,037,000. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.3% of Graham Capital Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MA. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $623.03.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE MA traded up $0.74 on Wednesday, reaching $592.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,959,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,363,363. The firm has a market capitalization of $535.73 billion, a PE ratio of 39.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $570.13 and a 200-day moving average of $557.03. 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 (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released 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 analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 73,532 shares of company stock valued at $40,837,132. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

About Mastercard

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.