Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Position Increased by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 92,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,150 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $51,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,964,305 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $18,984,867,000 after acquiring an additional 486,283 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,123,041 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,559,779,000 after acquiring an additional 480,725 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Mastercard by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,225,359 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,111,216,000 after purchasing an additional 42,871 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Mastercard by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,666,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,831,763,000 after purchasing an additional 554,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Mastercard by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,626,416 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,862,527,000 after purchasing an additional 199,424 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock traded down $2.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $653.45. The stock had a trading volume of 3,293,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,281,489. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $681.99. The firm has a market cap of $572.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $593.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $539.12.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 18.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $641.00, for a total transaction of $2,767,197.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 35,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,915,750. The trade was a 10.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total value of $1,907,344.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,403,600. This trade represents a 8.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $15,428,736. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several research reports. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $631.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. President Capital upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $693.00 to $729.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $632.00 target price (up from $609.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Mastercard from $665.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $704.62.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results beat expectations: revenue rose 14% year over year to $9.81 billion and adjusted EPS increased 21.2%. Services revenue grew 19%, although higher incentives were flagged as a concern. Mastercard’s 19% Services Growth Steals the Q3 Show: Buy or Hold MA?
• Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target to $735 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling potential upside in its view. Truist Financial rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded MA from Buy to Hold, despite lifting its target to $725. The mixed call may temper enthusiasm after the stock’s recent rally. Freedom Broker rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is a key risk: coverage notes the recent rally has outpaced changes in earnings estimates, leaving less room for disappointment. Rising incentives could also weigh on margins. Mastercard Stock Rose 22% in a Month. Here’s What Its Price Now Assumes
• Negative Sentiment: Visa and Mastercard face additional collective claims in the UK over card fees, adding potential legal and financial uncertainty. Visa and Mastercard face additional £5bn collective claims over card fees
• Neutral Sentiment: The CFO sold about $2.77 million of MA shares. The sale may attract attention, but the report provides no context on its purpose. Mastercard CFO stock sale

Mastercard Company Profile

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.