Mastercard Incorporated $MA is Maple Capital Management Inc.’s 9th Largest Position

Maple Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,605 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 3.3% of Maple Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $43,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,544,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $42,503,787,000 after purchasing an additional 365,537 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,096,979 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,015,557,000 after purchasing an additional 907,184 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 38.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,526,118 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,413,936,000 after purchasing an additional 3,765,378 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 65,631.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,225,637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,508,636,000 after purchasing an additional 8,213,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $4,238,764,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $589.12 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $574.32 and a 200 day moving average of $558.24. The company has a market capitalization of $532.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.72, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.99. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $465.59 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $8.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 9th were given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.50%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 312 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.67, for a total value of $178,049.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,833,004.23. The trade was a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 9,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.05, for a total value of $3,328,555.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,636,125.55. The trade was a 13.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,094 shares of company stock valued at $26,521,861. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $639.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Mastercard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.54.

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.