Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock: Insider Julius Genachowski Sells 371 Shares

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total transaction of $217,038.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,035,181.07. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Julius Genachowski also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, October 12th, Julius Genachowski sold 370 shares of Mastercard stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.21, for a total value of $218,377.70.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $602.39 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $574.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $533.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The stock has a market cap of $527.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $606.61.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.90 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Mastercard’s upcoming third-quarter report to show double-digit earnings growth. The company’s latest quarter surpassed consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue, reinforcing confidence in continued payment-volume growth. Mastercard earnings expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s shares have moved above key technical buy points and are approaching record levels, prompting some analysts to identify the potential for a longer-term breakout. Mastercard technical breakout analysis
• Positive Sentiment: New partnerships with SoFi Tech Solutions and Orbi in Mexico allow customers to spend either cryptocurrency or fiat currency through a Mastercard-supported card, potentially expanding network usage in the growing digital-asset economy. Mastercard and Orbi crypto card program
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is broadening its growth opportunities with an Africa cybersecurity center, an Asia-Pacific fleet-payments network with WEX and stablecoin-based cross-border payment initiatives. These efforts could increase long-term transaction volumes and diversify revenue sources. Mastercard international expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, equivalent to a $3.48 annualized payout and a modest 0.6% yield. The dividend supports shareholder returns but is unlikely to be a major near-term catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Julius Genachowski sold shares in multiple transactions under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sales reduced his holdings by roughly 4%, but the scheduled nature of the transactions limits their signaling value. Mastercard director stock sale
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard and Visa face a reported £700 million UK class action related to post-Brexit fees. Potential litigation costs or regulatory remedies could pressure future profitability. Mastercard UK class action

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 31.6% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 22,581 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $12,453,000 after acquiring an additional 5,423 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial grew its stake in Mastercard by 484.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 187 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,471 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,017,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,361,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $713.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Clear Str upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $681.56.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates the authorization, clearing and settlement of electronic payment transactions, while generally not issuing cards or extending credit itself. Its network supports payments made in stores, online and through mobile devices.

Mastercard’s products and services include consumer and commercial payment cards, digital payment solutions, payment processing, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, identity verification, data and analytics, and open banking tools.