UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Purchases 3,452 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Key Points

• UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp has increased its holdings in Mastercard by 86.6%, owning 7,436 shares valued at approximately $4,076,000 as per their latest SEC filing.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently entered positions in Mastercard, contributing to a total of 97.28% ownership of the company by such entities.
• The company reported $4.15 earnings per share in its latest quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, and recorded a year-over-year revenue growth of 16.8%, reaching $8.13 billion.

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 86.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,436 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,452 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp's holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,213,123 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,207,787 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $617,303,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $561,313,000. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 50,438.6% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 981,460 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $516,807,000 after acquiring an additional 979,518 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Macquarie cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $645.00 to $610.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set an "in-line" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $615.33.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA traded down $4.24 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $565.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,706,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,825,977. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $442.11 and a 52 week high of $594.71. The business's 50-day moving average price is $564.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $552.46. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $515.64 billion, a PE ratio of 38.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Mastercard had a net margin of 44.93% and a return on equity of 200.01%. 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 previous year, the company posted $3.50 earnings per share. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 20.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of Mastercard 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 transaction, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,636,125.55. This trade represents a 13.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 958 shares of Mastercard 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 23,624 shares in the company, valued at $13,229,440. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,753 shares of company stock valued at $20,351,084. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Company 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.