J. Stern & Co. LLP Has $71.51 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in Mastercard by 7.7%, holding 130,460 shares worth approximately $71.51 million, which makes it the firm's third largest position.
• Analysts have a positive outlook on Mastercard with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $617.93, reflecting confidence in the company's future growth.
• Mastercard recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, indicating a strong dividend payout ratio of 20.50%.

J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,460 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,275 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 6.8% of J. Stern & Co. LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. J. Stern & Co. LLP's holdings in Mastercard were worth $71,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Navigoe LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $617.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 14,051 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.05, for a total transaction of $8,220,537.55. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,196,757.55. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider directly owned 25,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,630,844.40. This trade represents a 3.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,269 shares of company stock worth $30,634,699 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.0%

Mastercard stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $590.77. The stock had a trading volume of 2,159,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,693,292. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $567.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $556.47. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $534.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.03. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Mastercard Company 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.