Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock: Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,004 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $26,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Montaka Global Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the third quarter. Montaka Global Pty Ltd now owns 20,759 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 14.0% in the third quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 71 West Capital Partners boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 2.1% in the third quarter. 71 West Capital Partners now owns 42,488 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,431,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 8.5% in the third quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 522 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its Mastercard price target from $675 to $800 and maintained a “buy” rating. The new target implies about 21.4% upside from the cited $658.91 price, signaling increased analyst optimism. TickerReport article
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard will be the card-network partner for Sage’s planned small-business accounts and debit cards, initially being implemented in France with Adyen. The arrangement could broaden Mastercard’s reach among small businesses. Sage partnership article
• Positive Sentiment: Other partnerships include a BMO business credit card in Canada and a Citizens treasury-management service using Mastercard technology, expanding its commercial-card and corporate-services footprint. Business banking partnerships article
• Positive Sentiment: Investor activity has also been supportive: one report said Pershing Square added to Mastercard in the second quarter, while another reported a fund increased its stake by 1,884% in the third quarter. Pershing Square holdings article Fund holdings article
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Michael Miebach described cybersecurity as a major concern for protecting financial infrastructure. The comments highlight an ongoing industry risk, but no specific breach or new Mastercard-related impact was reported. Cybersecurity interview

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $658.91 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $574.03 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $595.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $540.39. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $681.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.73% and a return on equity of 260.86%. The company had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.20%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 8,607 shares in the company, valued at $5,035,181.07. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total transaction of $4,296,155.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. The trade was a 15.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock worth $15,428,736 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MA. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $696.00 to $742.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Mastercard from $631.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $720.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $709.45.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses and governments. Its network supports electronic payments, including transactions made with Mastercard-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards, as well as digital payment methods. The company provides technology for authorizing, clearing and settling transactions. It also offers services related to cybersecurity, identity verification, data analytics, fraud prevention and payment consulting.