Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Sold by M&G PLC

M&G PLC trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 178,354 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,021 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $98,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 58.7% during the 3rd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 73 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Financial Group purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A fund with $4.5 billion in U.S. equities increased its Mastercard stake by 1,884% in the third quarter, a notable signal of institutional investor interest. Article: A Fund With $4.5 Billion in US Equities Just Bought These 3 Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Egypt’s Housing and Development Bank will use Mastercard’s platform and global network to expand its card offering, potentially supporting payment volume and reach. Article: Egypt’s HDB partners with Mastercard to expand card offer
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is backing Seattle startup Firmly’s work on AI shopping agents alongside JPMorgan, giving the company exposure to emerging commerce technology; the report does not specify the investment size. Article: JPMorgan and Mastercard back Seattle startup Firmly’s bet on AI shopping agents
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s Citi FinTech Conference appearance and CEO Michael Miebach’s profile may offer investor perspective, but the headlines provide no specific financial guidance or material new developments. Article: Mastercard presents at Citi’s 15th Annual FinTech Conference Article: How Mastercard’s Michael Miebach Learned to Love Collaboration
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing MA and WEX as value stocks does not provide a specific conclusion in the supplied summary. Mastercard also joined an Australian accessibility accreditation initiative, a reputational development with unclear near-term earnings impact. Article: WEX or MA: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now? Article: Mastercard, Telstra & Woolies Back New Accessibility Accreditation
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker cut Mastercard to Hold, signaling a more cautious view that could weigh on sentiment. Article: Mastercard Cut to Hold at Freedom Broker

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MA shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $668.00 to $731.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $632.00 price target (up from $609.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Mastercard from $597.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $705.67.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MA stock opened at $655.32 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $594.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $539.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $681.99. The firm has a market cap of $574.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $641.00, for a total transaction of $2,767,197.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,915,750. The trade was a 10.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total value of $1,907,344.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 36,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,403,600. The trade was 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. Insiders sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $15,428,736 in the last ninety days. Company 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, 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.