Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock: Moneco Advisors LLC Increases Position

Moneco Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 138.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,881 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,582 shares during the period. Moneco Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Fundsmith LLP purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $639,458,000. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 147.2% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 1,682,183 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $863,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001,671 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 295.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 860,011 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $441,702,000 after acquiring an additional 642,724 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 26.2% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,941,951 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,622,398,000 after acquiring an additional 611,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $293,574,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.21, for a total value of $218,377.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,237 shares in the company, valued at $4,861,559.77. The trade was a 4.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 35,750 shares in the company, valued at $22,915,750. This represents a 10.77% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $15,428,736. Insiders own 0.09% 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 Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $658.91 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $595.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $540.39. 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 company has a market capitalization of $574.03 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $681.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $9.81 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MA. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $632.00 price target (up from $609.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, July 31st. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $631.00 to $647.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore boosted their target price on Mastercard from $550.00 to $620.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $665.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Two investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $709.45.

Mastercard 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.