Maple Capital Management Inc. Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Maple Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.6%, now owning 78,605 shares valued at approximately $43.1 million, making Mastercard its 9th largest holding.
• Mastercard reported earnings of $4.15 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 16.8%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76, translating to an annualized yield of 0.5% with a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Maple Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,605 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 3.3% of Maple Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Maple Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $43,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $42,503,787,000 after acquiring an additional 365,537 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in 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 valued at $7,413,936,000 after acquiring an additional 3,765,378 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $4,238,764,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE MA opened at $589.12 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $574.32 and its 200-day moving average is $558.24. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $465.59 and a one year high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $532.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.72, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.99. 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 announced 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company 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 (DPR) is 20.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $626.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,094 shares of company stock worth $26,521,861 in the last quarter. 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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