Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Buys 17,786 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated by 8.0%, owning 239,337 shares valued at $131.2 million after the latest quarter.
• Mastercard reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.15, exceeding estimates, with revenue reaching $8.13 billion, marking a 16.8% year-over-year growth.
• Several analysts have upgraded Mastercard's stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $617.93.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 239,337 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,786 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in Mastercard were worth $131,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MA. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed 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 given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $626.54.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $546.77, for a total value of $601,447.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,921 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,815.17. The trade was a 7.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,481 shares of company stock worth $32,616,595 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of MA stock traded down $11.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $584.21. 2,432,106 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,252,842. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $465.59 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The company has a market cap of $528.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company's 50-day moving average price is $572.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $557.60.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. The firm had revenue of $8.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 20.50%.

About Mastercard

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.