9,755 Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Acquired by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its Mastercard stake by 167.7% in the third quarter, acquiring 9,755 shares and bringing its holdings to 15,572 shares valued at approximately $8.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.28% of Mastercard.
• Mastercard recently reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $5.04 and revenue of $9.28 billion, up 14.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $681.56.
• Shares opened at $604.95, near their 52-week high of $605.60, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share. Insiders have sold shares recently, including transactions conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 167.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,572 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,755 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $8,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. XY Planning Network Inc. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 15.5% in the third quarter. XY Planning Network Inc. now owns 565 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. ProCore Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. ProCore Advisors LLC now owns 684 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 11,463 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $6,322,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 27.4% during the third quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 7,747 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total transaction of $4,296,155.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 on Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total value of $217,038.71. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,035,181.07. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,359 shares of company stock worth $39,290,046. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard has moved above key technical buy points and extended a multi-session winning streak. Analysts say the chart could be signaling a longer-term breakout, attracting momentum-focused investors. Why the charts are signaling that Mastercard could be poised for a long-term breakout
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking ahead to Mastercard’s third-quarter earnings report later this month, with analysts expecting double-digit earnings growth. The company’s latest quarter also exceeded consensus estimates for revenue and earnings, while revenue increased 14.1% year over year. Mastercard next earnings report expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding its payments network through a crypto-linked card program with SoFi Tech Solutions and Orbi in Mexico. Customers can spend crypto or fiat while merchants receive traditional currency, potentially increasing transaction volumes. Mastercard Orbi crypto card program
• Positive Sentiment: New stablecoin and blockchain initiatives, an Africa cybersecurity center, and a WEX partnership creating an Asia-Pacific fleet-payments network support Mastercard’s longer-term growth strategy in digital, commercial and cross-border payments. WEX and Mastercard Asia-Pacific fleet payments network
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares for approximately $217,000 and separately sold 370 shares for about $218,000. Both transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing their signaling value. Mastercard insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard and Visa face a reported £700 million U.K. class action concerning post-Brexit fees, creating a potential legal and financial overhang. Visa and Mastercard U.K. class action

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $620.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. President Capital increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $693.00 to $729.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $681.56.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $604.95 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $573.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $532.76. The firm has a market cap of $529.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $605.60.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.90 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given 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 of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

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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