Michael Miebach Sells 16,628 Shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total transaction of $9,439,383.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 115,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,806,033.28. The trade was a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Michael Miebach also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 3rd, Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of Mastercard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total transaction of $9,644,240.00.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded up $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $571.26. The stock had a trading volume of 3,135,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,761,668. The firm has a market cap of $504.75 billion, a PE ratio of 31.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.71. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $516.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $514.45.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.15 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.72 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MA. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $659.00.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BVNK acquisition completed: Mastercard finalized its purchase of stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK for up to $1.8 billion. The deal gives Mastercard technology to connect fiat and digital currencies, support stablecoin settlement and offer banks and businesses additional payment rails. This could create a long-term growth opportunity, though the financial contribution is likely to build gradually. Mastercard completes BVNK acquisition to boost stablecoin infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded Fiserv partnership: Mastercard and Fiserv are combining Fiserv’s Commerce Hub with Mastercard’s merchant services to help large businesses improve payment performance across channels and international markets. The agreement could increase Mastercard’s enterprise acceptance and services revenue. Fiserv and Mastercard Deepen Global Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Higher analyst targets: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its Mastercard price target to $695 from $650 and maintained an Overweight rating. Other recent targets were raised to $680 and $685, reinforcing expectations for further upside based on Mastercard’s earnings growth and strategic initiatives. Cantor Fitzgerald target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Premium card and international expansion: Mastercard, Citi and American Airlines launched an upgraded AAdvantage Executive World Legend card with enhanced lounge access, rewards and travel benefits. Mastercard also announced six senior Asia-Pacific appointments and expanded stablecoin settlement support in Bahrain, supporting its premium-card and international growth strategies. Mastercard launches richer Citi AAdvantage card
• Neutral Sentiment: Execution and regulatory considerations: BVNK broadens Mastercard’s exposure to digital assets, but the acquisition requires substantial execution and remains subject to evolving stablecoin regulation, adoption rates and competition. Recent weakness in Circle shares also highlights investor uncertainty surrounding the stablecoin market. Why Circle Internet Stock Is Slumping

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in Mastercard by 113.8% during the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% 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.