Mastercard Incorporated $MA is Gabelli Funds LLC's Largest Position

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC has reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated by 2.7%, but it remains the firm's largest position, valued at approximately $201 million.
• Mastercard's stock received positive ratings from multiple analysts, with a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging around $617.93.
• Insider trading has seen significant activity, with CFO J. Mehra Sachin selling over 17,000 shares, indicating a 36.32% decrease in his ownership of the stock.

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 366,853 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 10,155 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.5% of Gabelli Funds LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $201,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 9.4% during the first quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 871 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 36.4% in the first quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 693 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,870 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,766,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 1,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on MA shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $617.93.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.0%

Mastercard stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours 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 company has a market cap of $534.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.84, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.03. The business's 50 day moving average price is $567.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $556.47. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total value of $536,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,269 shares of company stock worth $30,634,699. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.