Groupe la Francaise Buys 7,551 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise increased its stake in Mastercard by 9.2%, acquiring an additional 7,551 shares, which now amounts to 89,642 shares and represents 1.1% of its holdings.
• Mastercard reported earnings of $4.15 per share in its latest quarter, exceeding estimates and reflecting a 16.8% revenue growth year-over-year with total revenues of $8.13 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, translating to an annual yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Groupe la Francaise raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,642 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,551 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 1.1% of Groupe la Francaise's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Mastercard were worth $49,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Mastercard by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at $561,313,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.1%

Mastercard stock opened at $598.1480 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $461.90 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $540.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $564.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $555.73. 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 (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MA. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $617.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. The trade was a 36.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,269 shares of company stock valued at $30,634,699 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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