Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock: M&G PLC Lowers Holdings

Key Points

• M&G PLC reduced its Mastercard stake by 2.2% in the third quarter, selling 4,021 shares and retaining 178,354 shares valued at about $98.3 million.
• Mastercard reported quarterly earnings of $5.31 per share, beating estimates of $5.17, while revenue rose 14% year over year to $9.81 billion.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $705.67; Freedom Broker downgraded the stock to Hold. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of shares.

M&G PLC cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,354 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 4,021 shares during the period. M&G PLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $98,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Atlatl Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 586 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. raised its position in Mastercard by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 2,122 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 492 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Mastercard by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 513 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Athena Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $655.32 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The stock's 50 day moving average is $594.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $539.76. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $681.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $574.07 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.78.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.66 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.38 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.20%.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A fund with $4.5 billion in U.S. equities increased its Mastercard stake by 1,884% in the third quarter, a notable signal of institutional investor interest. Article: A Fund With $4.5 Billion in US Equities Just Bought These 3 Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Egypt’s Housing and Development Bank will use Mastercard’s platform and global network to expand its card offering, potentially supporting payment volume and reach. Article: Egypt’s HDB partners with Mastercard to expand card offer
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is backing Seattle startup Firmly’s work on AI shopping agents alongside JPMorgan, giving the company exposure to emerging commerce technology; the report does not specify the investment size. Article: JPMorgan and Mastercard back Seattle startup Firmly’s bet on AI shopping agents
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s Citi FinTech Conference appearance and CEO Michael Miebach’s profile may offer investor perspective, but the headlines provide no specific financial guidance or material new developments. Article: Mastercard presents at Citi’s 15th Annual FinTech Conference Article: How Mastercard’s Michael Miebach Learned to Love Collaboration
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing MA and WEX as value stocks does not provide a specific conclusion in the supplied summary. Mastercard also joined an Australian accessibility accreditation initiative, a reputational development with unclear near-term earnings impact. Article: WEX or MA: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now? Article: Mastercard, Telstra & Woolies Back New Accessibility Accreditation
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker cut Mastercard to Hold, signaling a more cautious view that could weigh on sentiment. Article: Mastercard Cut to Hold at Freedom Broker

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total value of $217,038.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,035,181.07. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,318 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $642.43, for a total value of $2,774,012.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,966,872.50. This trade represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,403 shares of company stock worth $15,428,736. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $701.00 price target (up from $674.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $632.00 price target (up from $609.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, July 31st. Freedom Broker cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $620.00 to $725.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Mastercard to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $705.67.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses and governments. Its network supports electronic payments, including transactions made with Mastercard-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards, as well as digital payment methods.

The company provides technology for authorizing, clearing and settling transactions. It also offers services related to cybersecurity, identity verification, data analytics, fraud prevention and payment consulting.

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.