6,441 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated $MA Purchased by M Holdings Securities Inc.

M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,441 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,552,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,964,305 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $18,984,867,000 after purchasing an additional 486,283 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 10.4% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,123,041 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,559,779,000 after purchasing an additional 480,725 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Mastercard by 1.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,225,359 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,111,216,000 after buying an additional 42,871 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Mastercard by 5.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,626,416 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,862,527,000 after buying an additional 199,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Mastercard by 17.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,666,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,831,763,000 after buying an additional 554,366 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $5,035,181.07. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $642.43, for a total value of $2,774,012.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,750 shares in the company, valued at $22,966,872.50. This trade represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock worth $15,428,736. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $653.45 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $572.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $681.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $593.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $539.12.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.73% and a return on equity of 260.86%. The firm had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho set a $711.00 price target on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $725.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Mastercard from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, President Capital boosted their target price on Mastercard from $693.00 to $729.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Two 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $704.62.

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

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.