Vulcan Value Partners LLC Purchases 119,782 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Vulcan Value Partners increased its Mastercard stake by 31.3% in the second quarter, purchasing 119,782 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 502,961 shares valued at approximately $258.3 million.
• Mastercard reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $5.04 and revenue of $9.28 billion, up 14.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 25 Buy and five Strong Buy ratings and an average price target of $666.64, compared with the reported share price of $570.35.

Vulcan Value Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 31.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 502,961 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 119,782 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 7.9% of Vulcan Value Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Vulcan Value Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Mastercard worth $258,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 7.3% in the first quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 139,844 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $70,089,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 65,414 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $37,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,768 shares during the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,328,000. Charles Lim Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,699,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 28,205 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $14,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded down $8.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $570.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,705,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,620,135. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $561.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $522.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $499.63 billion, a PE ratio of 31.37, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.74. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.62.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $597.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $666.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total transaction of $1,907,344.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,403,600. The trade was a 8.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 74,623 shares of company stock valued at $42,544,606. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated NYSE: MA is a global technology company that operates a payments network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payment transactions, including credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, by providing the infrastructure used to authorize, clear and settle transactions.

Mastercard's products and services include its Mastercard-branded payment cards, digital payment tools, contactless payment technology and payment solutions for businesses and governments.

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