Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by SFM LLC d b a Sweeney Financial Advisors

SFM LLC d b a Sweeney Financial Advisors trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 34.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,404 shares during the quarter. SFM LLC d b a Sweeney Financial Advisors’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 7.3% during the first quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 139,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,089,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in Mastercard by 5.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 105.1% in the first quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 12,834 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,412,000 after purchasing an additional 6,576 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 5.3% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,656,528 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $850,004,000 after purchasing an additional 82,793 shares during the period. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 50.1% in the first quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 14,003 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $6,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,675 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Mastercard’s upcoming third-quarter report to show double-digit earnings growth. The company’s latest quarter exceeded consensus estimates for both revenue and EPS, reinforcing expectations for continued operating momentum. Mastercard earnings expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding into digital assets through a crypto-linked card program in Mexico with SoFi Tech Solutions and Orbi. The offering lets users spend fiat or cryptocurrency while merchants receive traditional currency, potentially increasing transaction volume on Mastercard’s network. Mastercard Orbi crypto card program
• Positive Sentiment: A new Open USD stablecoin initiative on Solana positions Mastercard for blockchain-based settlement and cross-border payments. The company also announced an Africa cybersecurity center and an Asia-Pacific fleet-payments network with WEX, broadening its commercial and emerging-market growth opportunities. Mastercard stablecoin initiative
• Positive Sentiment: Technical coverage highlights Mastercard’s sustained rally, movement above key buy points and potential for a longer-term breakout. Several analysts maintain bullish ratings, with a reported consensus price target materially above recent trading levels. Mastercard technical breakout analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Julius Genachowski sold shares in two transactions totaling roughly $435,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sales reduce his holdings but are less significant as a discretionary bearish signal because they were scheduled in advance. Mastercard insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard and Visa reportedly face a £700 million U.K. class action concerning post-Brexit fees. Although the ultimate financial impact is uncertain, the litigation creates a potential regulatory and liability overhang for MA. Visa and Mastercard U.K. class action

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Mastercard from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. President Capital upped their price objective on Mastercard from $693.00 to $729.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $701.00 price objective (up from $674.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Mastercard from $642.00 to $696.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $681.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 370 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.21, for a total value of $218,377.70. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 68,359 shares of company stock worth $39,290,046 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock traded down $2.41 on Wednesday, hitting $602.39. 3,240,253 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,512,358. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $606.61. The stock has a market cap of $527.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $574.08 and a 200-day moving average of $533.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.90 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.14%.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates the authorization, clearing and settlement of electronic payment transactions, while generally not issuing cards or extending credit itself. Its network supports payments made in stores, online and through mobile devices.

Mastercard’s products and services include consumer and commercial payment cards, digital payment solutions, payment processing, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, identity verification, data and analytics, and open banking tools.