James Investment Research Inc. Sells 2,318 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• James Investment Research cut its Mastercard stake by 10.9% in the first quarter, selling 2,318 shares and leaving it with 19,012 shares valued at about $9.5 million.
• Mastercard has seen a wave of positive analyst and news developments, including Piper Sandler’s upgrade to strong-buy, plus mentions in a new stablecoin consortium and a cybersecurity center launch in Africa.
• The company continues to show solid financial performance, recently beating earnings and revenue estimates, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share and maintaining a consensus analyst rating of Buy.

James Investment Research Inc. lowered its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,012 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,318 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 1.1% of James Investment Research Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. James Investment Research Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 590 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard was upgraded by Piper Sandler to strong-buy, signaling improved analyst sentiment and supporting the stock. The Fly report on Piper Sandler upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is being mentioned as part of the new Open USD stablecoin consortium, which could strengthen its position in digital payments and cross-border settlement if adoption grows. Open USD consortium article
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced a new cybersecurity centre in Africa, a move that highlights investment in payment security and could support long-term network trust and adoption. Mastercard cybersecurity centre article
• Neutral Sentiment: A commentary piece questioned whether Mastercard trades at a premium valuation despite stablecoin-related developments, but it did not introduce a new fundamental catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate review of a Citi AAdvantage Mastercard credit card is consumer-oriented and not likely to materially affect Mastercard’s earnings outlook. CNBC Citi AAdvantage Globe Mastercard review

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $522.60 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $496.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $519.05. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $461.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The company's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.73 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price objective on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Monday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $597.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Mastercard from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $653.81.

Mastercard Company 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.

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