Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $265.77 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard (NYSE: MA) by 21.1%, holding 484,874 shares valued at approximately $265.77 million, making it their 15th largest position.
• Mastercard's most recent earnings report showed a 16.8% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share of $4.15, exceeding analyst expectations of $4.05.
• Several research firms have raised their target prices for Mastercard, with Morgan Stanley increasing its target from $639 to $661 and maintaining an "overweight" rating, reflecting optimism among analysts.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 21.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 484,874 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 84,328 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 1.1% of Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Mastercard worth $265,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $42,503,787,000 after purchasing an additional 365,537 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Mastercard by 4.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,015,557,000 after purchasing an additional 907,184 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Mastercard by 38.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 65,631.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,238,764,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MA. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $635.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $626.54.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.9%

Mastercard stock traded down $11.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $584.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,432,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,229,058. The company has a market capitalization of $528.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $572.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $557.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.50%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total transaction of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,481 shares of company stock valued at $32,616,595. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.