Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates reduced its Mastercard stake by 5.9% in the second quarter, selling 11,153 shares and retaining 177,434 shares valued at approximately $91.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.28% of the company.
• Wall Street remains bullish on Mastercard: analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $664.71, while several firms recently raised their targets.
• Mastercard reported quarterly EPS of $5.04 versus the $4.77 estimate, with revenue rising 14.1% year over year to $9.28 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, representing a 0.6% yield.

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 5.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,434 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 11,153 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Mastercard were worth $91,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.0% during the second quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 187,006 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $96,046,000 after buying an additional 7,162 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,656,528 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $850,004,000 after acquiring an additional 82,793 shares during the period. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $285,000. Field & Main Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,173,000. Finally, Prosperitas Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 8,688 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $4,462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and QNB Group processed Syria’s first international card transaction in more than 15 years. The milestone marks the reopening and modernization of Syria’s international payments infrastructure following the lifting of certain U.S. restrictions. Although the near-term financial contribution is likely to be small, the development creates a potential new market and demonstrates Mastercard’s ability to support payments expansion. Syria marks first international card transaction in more than 15 years with Mastercard and QNB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have given Mastercard a consensus “Buy” rating. Continued Wall Street support adds to the bullish backdrop, though the rating itself may already be reflected in the share price. Mastercard Incorporated Given Consensus Rating of Buy by Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman added Mastercard to the hedge fund’s portfolio. The purchase may improve investor sentiment by signaling confidence from a prominent long-term investor, although it does not change Mastercard’s operating outlook. Bill Ackman Just Made His Biggest Portfolio Overhaul in Years
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership with Klook targets growing travel and experiences spending across Asia Pacific. Mastercard cardholder benefits and additional travel-related payment touchpoints could support transaction volume in a high-growth region. Klook and Mastercard collaborate to enhance travelers’ experiences across Asia Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard will participate in the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 10, where CFO Ling Hai is scheduled to speak. Investors may look for updates on growth, margins and capital allocation, but no new financial information was provided. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s name appears as a supporter of an XRPL/Ripple hackathon, but reports caution that the sponsorship does not represent a new cryptocurrency partnership or major product launch. Mastercard’s Name Is on the Ripple Hackathon, But Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $597.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $664.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total value of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 7,444 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total value of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 40,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. This trade represents a 15.39% 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 71,357 shares of company stock valued at $40,637,262 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6%

MA opened at $595.51 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $601.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $549.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $519.62. 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 company has a market cap of $521.67 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.72.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.15 earnings per share. Mastercard's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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