Mastercard Incorporated $MA is Abacus FCF Advisors LLC's Largest Position

Key Points

• Abacus FCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 18.9%, making it the largest holding in their investment portfolio, valued at approximately $25.5 million.
• The company reported strong earnings of $4.15 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 to be paid on November 7th.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $630.89, with 24 analysts rating the stock as a Buy and two as Hold.

Abacus FCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 18.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,440 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,207 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 3.6% of Abacus FCF Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $25,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth approximately $11,421,213,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,508,636,000 after buying an additional 8,213,123 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $4,238,764,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% during the first 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 buying an additional 3,765,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $561,313,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA traded down $13.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $571.24. 1,827,693 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,781,803. The business's 50-day moving average price is $577.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $559.42. The company has a market cap of $516.41 billion, a PE ratio of 38.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 20.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $560.00, for a total transaction of $536,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,229,440. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,449 shares of company stock worth $21,974,441 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $650.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $630.89.

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.