Mastercard Incorporated $MA is iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management trimmed its Mastercard stake by 4.2% in the first quarter, but the company still ranks as its 9th-largest holding with 231,308 shares valued at about $115.6 million.
• Mastercard reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.60 versus $4.41 expected and revenue of $8.40 billion versus $8.26 billion expected. Revenue rose 15.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, implying an annualized payout of $3.48 and a 0.7% yield. Mastercard also continues to receive mostly bullish analyst coverage, with a consensus Buy rating.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 231,308 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 10,111 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 1.6% of iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $115,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 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 worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,678,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA opened at $513.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $453.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $496.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $519.34. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%.Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.73 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.14%.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched an Africa Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence in South Africa, a move that could deepen relationships with governments and financial institutions while reinforcing its role in digital security. Mastercard launches Africa Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence
• Positive Sentiment: The company is working with quantum computing firm OQC to explore better fraud detection, which could help Mastercard combat the large and growing fraud problem in payments. Mastercard (MA) Stock Rises as It Taps Quantum Tech to Fight $343 Billion Fraud Problem
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst began coverage on Mastercard with a bullish view, adding to sentiment support for the stock. This Mastercard Analyst Begins Coverage On A Bullish Note; Here Are Top 5 Initiations For Tuesday
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard highlighted that 87% of Moroccan SMEs remain confident about their business outlook, which is supportive of regional economic activity but is not a direct financial catalyst. Mastercard: 87% of Moroccan SMEs Confident About Business Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that a Visa-Mastercard settlement could affect rewards credit cards may pressure investor sentiment if it raises concerns about future card economics or rewards-related revenue. Visa, Mastercard settlement might impact rewards credit cards

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $631.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $605.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $653.81.

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.

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