Axa S.A. Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Axa S.A. increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 500,089 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,402 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.6% of Axa S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Axa S.A. owned about 0.05% of Mastercard worth $181,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.8% in the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 3,409 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.0% in the first quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% in the first quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 5,220 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MGO Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.5% in the first quarter. MGO Private Wealth LLC now owns 867 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.94% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $414.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The company has a market capitalization of $390.87 billion, a PE ratio of 38.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.10. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $276.87 and a 12-month high of $417.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $399.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $379.65.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.18 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 178.10% and a net margin of 43.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 12.13 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 7th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 6th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.37%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 125,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.39, for a total transaction of $49,243,124.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,430,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,916,200,851.11. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 125,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.39, for a total transaction of $49,243,124.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,430,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,916,200,851.11. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Craig Vosburg sold 6,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,533,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,596,400. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 412,431 shares of company stock worth $163,412,654. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MA. StockNews.com began coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. 888 reaffirmed a “reiterates” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Mastercard from $435.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Mastercard from $463.00 to $488.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Mastercard from $442.00 to $452.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $440.96.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services.