Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Forum Financial Management LP

Key Points

• Forum Financial Management LP cut its Mastercard stake by 76.2% in the first quarter, leaving it with 1,214 shares worth about $606,000 after selling 3,878 shares.
• Mastercard reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.60 versus $4.41 expected and revenue of $8.40 billion versus $8.26 billion forecast. Revenue rose 15.8% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, payable August 7, and analyst sentiment remains constructive with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $653.81.

Forum Financial Management LP reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 76.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,214 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,878 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Mastercard were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Betterment LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $380,548,000 after purchasing an additional 178,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $431,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard News Roundup

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

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MA opened at $513.24 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $453.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $496.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $519.34.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.73 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on Mastercard 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 note on Saturday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $605.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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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