Carmignac Gestion Has $376.23 Million Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Carmignac Gestion boosted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 92.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 732,598 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 352,128 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 4.8% of Carmignac Gestion’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Carmignac Gestion owned about 0.08% of Mastercard worth $376,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 8.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Betterment LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 6.5% during the second quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 35.8% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,548,000 after buying an additional 178,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter valued at about $431,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA traded down $8.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $570.35. The stock had a trading volume of 2,705,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,620,135. The stock has a market capitalization of $499.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company’s fifty day moving average is $561.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $522.20. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.62.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold 74,623 shares of company stock valued at $42,544,606. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $632.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $701.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $666.64.

About Mastercard

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.