Marshfield Associates Purchases 6,246 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Marshfield Associates has increased its stake in Mastercard, owning 562,910 shares worth approximately $308.5 million, representing 6.7% of its total holdings as of its recent SEC filing.
• Mastercard's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $4.15 EPS and $8.13 billion in revenue, which is a 16.8% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend payment of $0.76 per share, with a current dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

Marshfield Associates lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 562,910 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,246 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 6.7% of Marshfield Associates' portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Marshfield Associates owned 0.06% of Mastercard worth $308,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $31,000. 10Elms LLP acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total value of $10,202,433.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,481 shares of company stock worth $32,616,595 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MA. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $626.54.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $594.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,653,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,779,662. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $537.77 billion, a PE ratio of 40.11, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $570.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $557.28.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

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.