6,979 Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Bell Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Bell Asset Management cut its Mastercard stake by 49.4% in the third quarter, selling 6,979 shares and retaining 7,141 shares valued at approximately $3.94 million. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company.
• Mastercard reported quarterly earnings of $5.04 per share and revenue of $9.28 billion, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue increased 14.1% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $680, compared with the reported share price of $574.83. Recent initiatives include stablecoin settlement with SoFi and expanded payment capabilities in Europe and the Middle East.

Bell Asset Management Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 49.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,141 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,979 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 1.5% of Bell Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Bell Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. First Pacific Financial raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 113.8% during 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 during the period. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.8%

MA stock opened at $574.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $571.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $530.74. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.23. The company has a market cap of $503.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The firm's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.15 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. 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 payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $642.00 to $696.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $597.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Daiwa Securities Group increased their target price on Mastercard from $580.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Mastercard from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Mastercard from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $680.00.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SoFi launched stablecoin-based card settlement on Mastercard’s network and is projecting more than $25 billion in annual volume. The initiative could strengthen Mastercard’s role in institutional digital-asset payments and create additional transaction revenue. SoFi launches stablecoin card settlement on Mastercard
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding offline payment capabilities across Europe, allowing transactions to continue during power or network outages. The feature may improve network resilience and customer value. Mastercard offline payments in Europe
• Positive Sentiment: New collaborations in Bahrain and with gaming platform Tamatem are expanding Mastercard’s small-business, digital-commerce and gaming payment reach in the Middle East. Mastercard and stc pay Bahrain collaboration Mastercard and Tamatem gaming payments
• Positive Sentiment: Autonomous Research made only a minor reduction to its price target, to $686 from $687, while maintaining an Outperform rating. Autonomous Research Mastercard price target

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, 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. The trade was a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total value of $1,907,344.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 36,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,403,600. This trade represents a 8.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 67,618 shares of company stock valued at $38,854,630 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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