Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Holdings Lowered by Hohimer Wealth Management LLC

Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,400 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,022 shares during the quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Atlatl Advisers LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 2.8% during the third quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 0.9% in the third quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 2,122 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the third quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 492 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% in the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Athena Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% in the second quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MA. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $701.00 target price (up from $674.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $632.00 price target (up from $609.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $722.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $668.00 to $731.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $704.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $642.43, for a total transaction of $2,774,012.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,966,872.50. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total transaction of $217,038.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,035,181.07. This trade represents a 4.13% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock worth $15,428,736. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

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 Performance

NYSE MA opened at $653.45 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $572.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $593.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $539.12. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $681.99. 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 (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The firm had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.