Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Sells 2,352 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,500 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,352 shares during the quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $37,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.5% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Betterment LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the second quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 35.8% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,548,000 after buying an additional 178,387 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $431,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Weiss Ratings raised Mastercard from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $664.71.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and QNB Group processed Syria’s first international card transaction in more than 15 years. The milestone marks the reopening and modernization of Syria’s international payments infrastructure following the lifting of certain U.S. restrictions. Although the near-term financial contribution is likely to be small, the development creates a potential new market and demonstrates Mastercard’s ability to support payments expansion. Syria marks first international card transaction in more than 15 years with Mastercard and QNB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have given Mastercard a consensus “Buy” rating. Continued Wall Street support adds to the bullish backdrop, though the rating itself may already be reflected in the share price. Mastercard Incorporated Given Consensus Rating of Buy by Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman added Mastercard to the hedge fund’s portfolio. The purchase may improve investor sentiment by signaling confidence from a prominent long-term investor, although it does not change Mastercard’s operating outlook. Bill Ackman Just Made His Biggest Portfolio Overhaul in Years
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership with Klook targets growing travel and experiences spending across Asia Pacific. Mastercard cardholder benefits and additional travel-related payment touchpoints could support transaction volume in a high-growth region. Klook and Mastercard collaborate to enhance travelers’ experiences across Asia Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard will participate in the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 10, where CFO Ling Hai is scheduled to speak. Investors may look for updates on growth, margins and capital allocation, but no new financial information was provided. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s name appears as a supporter of an XRPL/Ripple hackathon, but reports caution that the sponsorship does not represent a new cryptocurrency partnership or major product launch. Mastercard’s Name Is on the Ripple Hackathon, But Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $595.51 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $549.15 and its 200 day moving average is $519.62. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $601.62. The firm has a market cap of $521.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.15 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard's payout ratio is 19.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 31,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,781,695.49. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total value of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,625,225. The trade was a 22.71% 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 71,357 shares of company stock valued at $40,637,262. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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