Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Acquired by Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 8.9% in Q1, now owning 20,145 shares valued at approximately $11.04 million, making it their 29th largest investment.
• Mastercard reported a strong earnings performance with $4.15 earnings per share in the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a 16.8% year-over-year revenue growth to $8.13 billion.
• Mastercard announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.5%, and the company has a dividend payout ratio of 20.50%.

Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 8.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,145 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 0.3% of Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $42,503,787,000 after acquiring an additional 365,537 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,149,181 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,817,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207,787 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,238,764,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,610,333 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,007,373,000 after purchasing an additional 71,874 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MA shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $652.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $617.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total transaction of $178,049.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This trade represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety 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 Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of MA traded down $1.2580 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $591.4220. The company had a trading volume of 2,347,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,806,646. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $461.90 and a fifty-two week high of $594.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $563.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $555.28. The stock has a market cap of $534.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.10. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The business had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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