Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock: Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Position

Key Points

• Russell Investments increased its Mastercard stake by 2.2% in the third quarter, adding 43,395 shares to bring its holding to about 2.02 million shares, valued at $1.12 billion.
• Mastercard reported quarterly earnings of $5.31 per share and revenue of $9.81 billion, both above analyst expectations; revenue rose 14% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment was broadly positive: the consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $713.21. Mastercard also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,020,960 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 43,395 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.0% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.23% of Mastercard worth $1,116,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter worth $31,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $34,000. Premier Financial Group bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 102.6% in the second quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 79 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $652.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $568.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.13, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $681.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $598.61 and a 200 day moving average of $541.70.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 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 analyst estimates of $9.66 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.20%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 370 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.21, for a total value of $218,377.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,861,559.77. This trade represents a 4.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 4,317 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $641.00, for a total value of $2,767,197.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,915,750. The trade was a 10.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $15,428,736 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Mastercard from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $713.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Clear Str raised shares of Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $722.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $713.21.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Investors following MA have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein raised its price target on Mastercard to $764 from $730 and reiterated an “outperform” rating, implying 17.1% upside from the cited $652.48 reference price. TickerReport article
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding payment capabilities and partnerships. It completed a reported agentic travel transaction, and separately partnered with Glyde to bring virtual-card payments to Southern Africa’s travel sector—developments that could support new use cases and transaction activity. PYMNTS article Mastercard and Glyde article
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s Canadian holiday survey found shoppers are emphasizing budgeting and value. That is useful context for consumer spending, but the report does not provide evidence of a change in Mastercard’s payment volumes. Yahoo Finance article

Mastercard Company 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.

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