Waycross Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• Waycross Partners LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 24.7%, now owning 56,407 shares, which account for 3.5% of their portfolio.
• Mastercard reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with $4.15 EPS and revenue of $8.13 billion, exceeding analyst predictions.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, set to be paid on August 8th, with an annualized yield of 0.5%.

Waycross Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 24.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,407 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,168 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 3.5% of Waycross Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Waycross Partners LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $30,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $42,503,787,000 after buying an additional 365,537 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Mastercard by 15.2% in the 4th 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 increased its holdings in Mastercard by 65,631.5% in the 1st 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 Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 7,610,333 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $4,007,373,000 after purchasing an additional 71,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Mastercard by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,033,571 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,703,667,000 after purchasing an additional 724,887 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $655.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $612.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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. 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, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $615.33.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.4%

NYSE MA traded up $13.20 on Friday, hitting $574.42. 2,907,568 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,618,541. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $453.46 and a 52-week high of $594.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $523.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average price is $563.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $553.24.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th were issued 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 is currently 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,636,125.55. This represents a 13.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,603 shares of company stock valued at $20,265,667. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.