1,821 Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by StoneX Group Inc.

Key Points

• StoneX Group cut its Mastercard stake by 27.4% in the third quarter, selling 1,821 shares and retaining 4,829 shares valued at about $2.67 million.
• Mastercard beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $5.31 and revenue of $9.81 billion, up 14% year over year.
• Analysts’ average rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $704.62; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share.

StoneX Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 27.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,829 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,821 shares during the period. StoneX Group Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,964,305 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $18,984,867,000 after acquiring an additional 486,283 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,123,041 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,559,779,000 after acquiring an additional 480,725 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,225,359 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,111,216,000 after acquiring an additional 42,871 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Mastercard by 17.8% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 554,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Mastercard by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,626,416 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,862,527,000 after purchasing an additional 199,424 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $653.45 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $572.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $681.99. The stock's fifty day moving average is $593.15 and its 200-day moving average is $539.12.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.66 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.73% and a return on equity of 260.86%. The company's revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Clear Str raised shares of Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $710.00 to $688.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Mizuho set a $711.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $550.00 to $620.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $704.62.

Mastercard News Summary

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $641.00, for a total transaction of $2,767,197.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,915,750. The trade was a 10.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total transaction of $1,907,344.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 36,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,403,600. This represents a 8.18% 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 three months, insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock worth $15,428,736. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.

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