Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Buys 4,601 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Ascent Wealth Partners increased its Mastercard stake by 27.4% in the third quarter, buying 4,601 shares for a total holding of 21,383 shares valued at approximately $11.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.28% of the company.
• Mastercard reported quarterly earnings of $5.04 per share and revenue of $9.28 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue grew 14.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, representing a 0.6% yield.
• Analysts maintain a largely bullish outlook, with the stock receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $683.94 versus the cited share price of $622.87. Recent insider activity was net negative, with executives selling shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,383 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,601 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 1.1% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $25,000. First Pacific Financial grew its position in Mastercard by 113.8% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Premier Financial Group purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 102.6% during the second quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 79 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE:MA opened at $622.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $581.90 and a 200-day moving average of $539.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $545.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $633.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be given 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 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Mastercard from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on Mastercard from $710.00 to $688.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Mastercard from $597.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $683.94.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,035,181.07. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $620.00, for a total transaction of $2,676,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 35,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,165,000. The trade was a 10.77% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 72,676 shares of company stock worth $41,966,586 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding its growth opportunity in business-to-business payments through an “agentic AI” strategy targeting the roughly $80 trillion B2B market. The initiative could support long-term transaction volume and value-added-services growth. Inside Mastercard’s Agentic AI Strategy For The $80 Trillion B2B Payments Market
• Positive Sentiment: UBS said payment tokenization could contribute a low-single-digit percentage to Mastercard’s medium-term revenue growth, while producing a low-to-mid-single-digit contribution to value-added-services growth. This reinforces the investment case for Mastercard’s security and digital-payments businesses. Visa and Mastercard tokenization fees could support revenue growth
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched a Stablecoin Security API that provides real-time risk scoring for fiat-to-stablecoin transactions. The platform could create additional enterprise revenue while positioning Mastercard as an intermediary in regulated digital-asset payments. Mastercard Introduced A Stablecoin Security API
• Positive Sentiment: New initiatives—including an AI assistant for cardholders, expanded fraud protection through First-Party Trust, and partnerships for contactless transit and premium co-branded cards—could improve customer engagement, fraud-related services, and payment volumes across international markets. Mastercard unveils AI assistant to help cardholders use benefits
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard is scheduled to report earnings next week. Analysts expect earnings growth and are highlighting the potential for a beat, but investors may remain cautious until management provides updated guidance on consumer spending, cross-border volumes, and operating expenses. MasterCard Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Payment-network stocks, including Mastercard, Visa, and American Express, have been slipping as investors reacted skeptically to American Express’s quarterly results despite a profit outlook improvement. The sector-wide move appears to be weighing on Mastercard independently of its company-specific announcements. American Express Falls Despite Q3 Beat; Visa and Mastercard Slip

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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