Mastercard Incorporated $MA is Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab’s 8th Largest Position

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab cut its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 38.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 231,677 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 143,442 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 2.2% of Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $115,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 820.0% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. First Pacific Financial increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 113.8% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $537.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $505.73 and a 200-day moving average of $515.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $474.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.73.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.73 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 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 Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.14%.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and Al Etihad Payments announced the first co-badged Jaywan-Mastercard credit card, a new partnership that could expand Mastercard’s footprint in the UAE and support payment-network volume growth. Al Etihad Payments, Mastercard launch world’s first Jaywan-Mastercard co-badged credit card
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard was highlighted as a strong momentum stock, reinforcing the view that the company still has favorable fundamental and trading characteristics despite recent weakness. Here’s Why MasterCard (MA) is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and Lithic introduced a way to make small-business loan proceeds spend-ready, a payments-adjacent product that could deepen Mastercard’s role in SMB finance workflows. Lithic and Mastercard Make SMB Loans Ready to Spend

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MA. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% 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, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total value of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976. 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, 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.