Alta Advisers Ltd Buys 2,502 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Alta Advisers increased its Mastercard stake 77.1% in Q3, buying 2,502 shares to hold 5,749 shares valued at about $3.17 million.
• Mastercard beat Q3 estimates, reporting $9.81 billion in revenue, up 14% year over year, and EPS of $5.31 versus consensus of $5.17.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $704 target price; however, some commentary warns that the stock’s recent rally may have pushed its valuation ahead of forecast growth.

Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,749 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 0.4% of Alta Advisers Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Alta Advisers Ltd's holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,964,305 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $18,984,867,000 after acquiring an additional 486,283 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $2,559,779,000 after acquiring an additional 480,725 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Mastercard by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 42,871 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Mastercard by 17.8% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,666,018 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,831,763,000 after purchasing an additional 554,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Mastercard by 5.8% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,626,416 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,862,527,000 after purchasing an additional 199,424 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target to $735 and maintained a Buy rating. Other firms have set targets as high as $765 following Q3, reflecting optimism about Mastercard’s outlook. Truist target increase Analyst price targets after Q3
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain strong: Mastercard reported Q3 revenue of $9.81 billion, up 14% year over year, and EPS of $5.31, beating analyst estimates for both measures. Mastercard earnings and company information
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard is participating in firmly’s $15 million funding round for a platform that helps merchants connect with AI agents and other digital commerce channels. The investment aligns with its agentic-commerce strategy, but the near-term financial contribution is uncertain. firmly funding and agentic commerce
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation may be weighing on the stock after its roughly 19% monthly rise to a 52-week high. A recent analysis says much of the rally came from investors assigning a higher earnings multiple, while Wall Street estimates barely changed after the report—raising the risk that expectations have run ahead of forecast growth. Valuation and earnings estimates analysis
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares in a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transaction. Such planned sales are less indicative of a new view on the business, but insider selling can add to near-term caution. CFO share sale details

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $655.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $574.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.29, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $591.91 and a 200-day moving average of $538.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $681.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.66 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total value of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. The trade was a 15.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 8,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,035,181.07. The trade was a 4.13% 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 have sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $15,428,736 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MA. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $696.00 to $742.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Mastercard from $667.00 to $726.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $725.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Mastercard from $680.00 to $713.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Clear Str upgraded Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $704.00.

Mastercard Company 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 electronic payments and provides technology that supports transactions conducted through credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment products.

In addition to operating its payments network, Mastercard offers services in areas such as payment security, fraud prevention, authentication, cybersecurity, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital identity and open banking.

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