Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 79.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 175,930 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,986 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 2.1% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $86,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,584,606 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $36,399,279,000 after acquiring an additional 330,872 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Mastercard by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,651,904 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,574,347,000 after acquiring an additional 43,881 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 120,665.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 8,041,758 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,971,020,000 after acquiring an additional 8,035,099 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,082,729 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,241,297,000 after acquiring an additional 71,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,327,168 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,908,973,000 after acquiring an additional 113,238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares in the company, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CMO Venkata R. Madabhushi sold 4,685 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $489.86, for a total transaction of $2,294,994.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 15,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,085.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 109,000 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.45, for a total transaction of $50,952,050.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 91,924,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,970,017,774.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 327,370 shares of company stock worth $153,495,958. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.3 %

Mastercard stock opened at $524.67 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $386.74 and a 1-year high of $528.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $481.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $499.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $468.84.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The credit services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.16. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 178.27%. The business had revenue of $7.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.39 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 14.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas cut shares of Mastercard from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $470.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $536.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $591.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $496.00 to $532.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $540.17.

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.