Mastercard Incorporated $MA is Blacksheep Fund Management Ltd's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Blacksheep Fund Management slashed its Mastercard position by 99.4% in the second quarter, retaining 513 shares worth approximately $263,000. Mastercard still represents 11.4% of the fund’s portfolio and remains its second-largest holding.
• Mastercard reported quarterly revenue of $9.28 billion and earnings of $5.04 per share, exceeding analyst estimates; revenue increased 14.1% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $666.64 versus the reported share price of $580.95. Recent insider activity was predominantly selling, including $40.6 million in sales over the past three months.

Blacksheep Fund Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 99.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 513 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 87,137 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 11.4% of Blacksheep Fund Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Blacksheep Fund Management Ltd's holdings in Mastercard were worth $263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its position in Mastercard by 53,535.0% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $41,444,231,000 after acquiring an additional 72,461,743 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,807,283,000 after purchasing an additional 997,536 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,686,605 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,773,153,000 after purchasing an additional 349,369 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,964,658 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $10,256,368,000 after purchasing an additional 759,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,046,550 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,160,657,000 after purchasing an additional 123,528 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total value of $8,838,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,873,475. This represents a 14.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,357 shares of company stock valued at $40,637,262. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $580.95 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $553.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $520.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $508.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.96, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.62.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. Mastercard's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $642.00 to $696.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $666.64.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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