Waycross Partners LLC Buys 4,865 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Waycross Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,464 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,865 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 3.3% of Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $42,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in Mastercard by 5.4% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 28,205 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $14,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares during the period. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.2% during the second quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 141,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $72,843,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.3% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,656,528 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $850,004,000 after purchasing an additional 82,793 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 50.1% during the first quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 14,003 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 81,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $44,885,000 after purchasing an additional 4,751 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.21, for a total transaction of $218,377.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,861,559.77. This represents a 4.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $21,403,600. The trade was a 8.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock worth $15,428,736. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Key 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 Stock Down 0.4%

Mastercard stock traded down $2.47 during trading hours 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $593.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $539.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $572.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $681.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 18.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $701.00 price target (up from $674.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $674.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $620.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Clear Str raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, President Capital increased their target price on Mastercard from $693.00 to $729.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $704.62.

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.