How are hedge funds trading Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA)?
Heading into 2016, a total of 80 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a 5% rise from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably (or had already accumulated large positions).
According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Tom Russo’s Gardner Russo & Gardner has the number one position in Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA), worth close to $944.5 million, corresponding to 8.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On Gardner Russo & Gardner’s heels is Stephen Mandel of Lone Pine Capital, with a $598.8 million position; 2.6% of his 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors that are bullish consist of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, Charles Akre’s Akre Capital Management, and Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies.
Now, some big names have been driving this bullishness. Tiger Eye Capital, managed by Ben Gambill, created the biggest position in Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA). Tiger Eye Capital had $45.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Stuart Powers’ Hengistbury Investment Partners also initiated a $42.2 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are Barry Dargan’s Intermede Investment Partners, Ike Kier and Ilya Zaides’ KG Funds Management, and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.
Let’s go over hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA). We will take a look at British American Tobacco PLC (ADR) (NYSEAMEX:BTI), GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) (NYSE:GSK), The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), and AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV). This group of stocks’ market caps are similar to MA’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTI | 15 | 451562 | 0 |
| GSK | 29 | 856833 | -6 |
| BA | 42 | 983977 | 7 |
| ABBV | 70 | 5288210 | -8 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 39 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $1.90 billion. That figure was $6.01 billion in MA’s case. AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand British American Tobacco PLC (ADR) (NYSEAMEX:BTI) is the least popular one with only 15 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) is more popular among hedge funds and has quite a bit more money invested in it. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers and that many consider it a good investment even alongside its main rival Visa, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.
