WELLCOME TRUST LTD THE as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• WELLCOME TRUST LTD increased its stake in Mastercard by 7.2%, holding 595,000 shares valued at approximately $334.35 million, making it 12th in their portfolio.
• Mastercard's recent quarterly earnings outperformed expectations with an EPS of $4.15 and revenue of $8.13 billion, marking a 16.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.76 per share, set to be paid on November 7th, with a current dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 20.50%.

WELLCOME TRUST LTD THE as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST grew its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 595,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 3.9% of WELLCOME TRUST LTD THE as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. WELLCOME TRUST LTD THE as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST owned about 0.07% of Mastercard worth $334,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $42,503,787,000 after purchasing an additional 365,537 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $11,421,213,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,015,557,000 after purchasing an additional 907,184 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter valued at $4,238,764,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.00, for a total transaction of $10,202,433.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,459,294. This trade represents a 35.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $563.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $509.65 billion, a PE ratio of 38.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $465.59 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $581.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $562.68.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $650.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $634.04.

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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