Evanson Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Evanson Financial LLC acquired 2,513 Mastercard shares worth approximately $1.29 million in the second quarter, while institutional investors collectively own 97.28% of the company.
• Analysts remain bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and average price target of $661.93. Mastercard also exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.04 EPS and $9.28 billion in revenue, up 14.1% year over year.
• Several insiders sold shares totaling $35.8 million over the past 90 days under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans; Mastercard recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, representing a 0.6% yield.

Evanson Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,513 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,291,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,897,854 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $45,612,087,000 after purchasing an additional 466,514 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $41,444,231,000 after purchasing an additional 72,461,743 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,807,283,000 after purchasing an additional 997,536 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,686,605 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,773,153,000 after buying an additional 349,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,964,658 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $10,256,368,000 after buying an additional 759,584 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,781,695.49. The trade was a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,625,225. The trade was a 22.71% 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. Insiders sold a total of 62,913 shares of company stock valued at $35,769,036 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $605.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $661.93.

Mastercard Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $562.20 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $496.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $522.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $515.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77.

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 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 business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.15 EPS. The business's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.14%.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin initiatives create new growth opportunities: Mastercard is partnering with Borderless.xyz to test trusted cross-border stablecoin payment flows using Mastercard Crypto Credential. It is also a founding validator for Circle’s Arc blockchain, which is scheduled to launch on September 16. These efforts could produce future transaction-processing, compliance and infrastructure revenue. Mastercard and Borderless.xyz stablecoin partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Fiserv partnership expands Mastercard’s merchant reach: Connecting Mastercard Merchant Cloud with Fiserv Commerce Hub will give enterprise merchants broader access to payment services across online, mobile and in-store channels, potentially supporting transaction growth and value-added-services revenue. Mastercard expands merchant reach through Fiserv
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish: Wall Street maintains a favorable view of MA, with recent target increases including Cantor Fitzgerald’s $695 target. The optimism follows Mastercard’s latest earnings beat: quarterly EPS was $5.04 versus $4.77 expected, while revenue rose 14.1% year over year to $9.28 billion. Wall Street outlook for Mastercard
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s corporate-card launches in the UAE and Egypt and expanded premium travel benefits in Asia may increase regional usage, although the immediate earnings contribution is likely limited. Mastercard regional card expansion
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders sold shares: CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares for about $8.8 million, while J. Mehra Sachin sold 3,000 shares and Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares. All trades were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, which reduces their predictive value, but the cluster of sales can still pressure investor sentiment. Mastercard insider sale filings
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and industry risks remain: With MA trading at roughly 31 times earnings, investors may be sensitive to slowing consumer spending, rising technology costs and regulatory scrutiny of payments and stablecoins.

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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