Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its stake in Mastercard by 7.7% in Q2, now holding 15,591 shares valued at approximately $8.86 million.
• Mastercard's quarterly earnings surpassed analysts' expectations with EPS of $4.15 and revenue of $8.13 billion, representing a 16.8% increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for October 9th, reflecting a yield of 0.5%.

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,591 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,116 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 2.6% of Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.8% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 9,219 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,180,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.6% in the second quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 26,851 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $15,088,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 10,653 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,986,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 4,444 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principle Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 19.9% during the second quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,928 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,331,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total value of $10,456,032.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 31,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,330,922.26. This trade represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $656.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $638.00.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $570.57 on Thursday. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $579.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $564.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $515.80 billion, a PE ratio of 38.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.97.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The credit services provider reported $4.15 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.50 EPS. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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