Navigation Group LLC Invests $892,000 in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Navigation Group LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 820.0% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.78.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its price target on Mastercard to $680 from $660 and kept an Outperform rating, citing expectations for revenue growth to accelerate as comparisons ease. Baird Raises PT on Mastercard (MA) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $640 price target, reinforcing Wall Street confidence in Mastercard’s long-term earnings power after a sector reset. Barclays Initiates Mastercard (MA) Coverage at Overweight
• Positive Sentiment: Several partnerships and network developments show Mastercard’s payment rails remain widely used, including RAKBANK strengthening its relationship with Mastercard and Kraken rolling out a Mastercard crypto debit card in the UK and Europe. RAKBANK and Mastercard strengthen strategic relationship to drive payments innovation Kraken rolls out Mastercard crypto debit card in UK and Europe
• Neutral Sentiment: The House passed a bill that would restrict how payment networks classify firearms retailers, which could create compliance changes for Mastercard but is not yet final law. Congress Vote: The House has passed H.R. 1181 – Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard-related commentary also pointed to ongoing value in the business model, with one analysis saying “the moat remains intact,” while another article noted Mastercard stock looks richer after recent gains and faces pressure from regulation and new competition. The Moat Remains Intact Mastercard (MA) Stock Looks Overvalued On Regulatory Pressure And New Competition

Mastercard Stock Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $535.47 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The stock has a market cap of $473.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $502.03 and a 200-day moving average of $516.24.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The business’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.73 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total transaction of $1,047,276.21. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This trade represents a 10.74% 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 sold a total of 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.