Equitable Holdings Inc. Sells 9,773 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Equitable Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 21.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,685 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 9,773 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $18,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 820.0% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 113.8% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 7,444 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at $23,613,851.08. The trade was a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% 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 90 days, insiders sold 71,357 shares of company stock worth $40,637,262. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE MA opened at $591.35 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 has a market cap of $518.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $547.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $519.09. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.62.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.15 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were given 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 currently 19.14%.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard has restarted international card-payment services in Syria for the first time in roughly 15 years after regulatory changes, potentially reopening transaction-volume opportunities in the country. Visa is also entering the market, limiting Mastercard’s ability to capture the opportunity exclusively. Visa, Mastercard begin first Syria global card payments in years
• Positive Sentiment: A new partnership with Asia-Pacific travel-experiences platform Klook aims to provide Mastercard cardholders with travel benefits and create additional spending touchpoints as experience-led tourism expands across the region. The initiative could support cross-border payments and customer engagement, although financial terms were not disclosed. Klook and Mastercard collaborate to enhance travelers' experiences across Asia Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard said CFO Ling Hai will speak at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 10. The presentation may offer updates on growth, travel spending and digital payments, but it does not change current financial guidance. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s name appears as a supporter of a Ripple XRPL hackathon, highlighting continued interest in blockchain development. However, the event is not evidence of a major XRP or XRPL commercial rollout by Mastercard. Mastercard’s Name Is on the Ripple Hackathon, But Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary argues that Mastercard’s strong earnings profile and roughly 61% net margin are already reflected in the stock’s elevated valuation. The shares’ retreat after nearing their high may therefore reflect profit-taking and concern that further gains require continued strong execution. Mastercard's Record Stalls With 61% Margin Already Priced In

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $632.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Mastercard from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Clear Str upgraded shares of Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $664.71.

About Mastercard

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.

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