Sapient Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Sapient Capital reduced its Mastercard stake by 6.2% in the second quarter, selling 3,476 shares and retaining 52,544 shares valued at approximately $27 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.28% of the company.
• Mastercard reported a quarterly earnings beat, with EPS of $5.04 versus $4.77 expected and revenue of $9.28 billion, up 14.1% year over year. Analysts remain bullish, assigning the stock a consensus “Buy” rating and an average target price of $661.93.
• Insiders sold approximately 62,913 shares worth $35.8 million during the last quarter, though the reported transactions were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Mastercard also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.87, yielding about 0.6%.

Sapient Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,544 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,476 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $26,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Mastercard by 820.0% during the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.87, for a total value of $1,715,610.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at $23,398,632.92. The trade was a 6.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 62,913 shares of company stock worth $35,769,036. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $661.93.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $562.20 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $522.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $515.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $492.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.71. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.14%.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin initiatives create new growth opportunities: Mastercard is partnering with Borderless.xyz to test trusted cross-border stablecoin payment flows using Mastercard Crypto Credential. It is also a founding validator for Circle’s Arc blockchain, which is scheduled to launch on September 16. These efforts could produce future transaction-processing, compliance and infrastructure revenue. Mastercard and Borderless.xyz stablecoin partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Fiserv partnership expands Mastercard’s merchant reach: Connecting Mastercard Merchant Cloud with Fiserv Commerce Hub will give enterprise merchants broader access to payment services across online, mobile and in-store channels, potentially supporting transaction growth and value-added-services revenue. Mastercard expands merchant reach through Fiserv
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish: Wall Street maintains a favorable view of MA, with recent target increases including Cantor Fitzgerald’s $695 target. The optimism follows Mastercard’s latest earnings beat: quarterly EPS was $5.04 versus $4.77 expected, while revenue rose 14.1% year over year to $9.28 billion. Wall Street outlook for Mastercard
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s corporate-card launches in the UAE and Egypt and expanded premium travel benefits in Asia may increase regional usage, although the immediate earnings contribution is likely limited. Mastercard regional card expansion
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders sold shares: CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares for about $8.8 million, while J. Mehra Sachin sold 3,000 shares and Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares. All trades were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, which reduces their predictive value, but the cluster of sales can still pressure investor sentiment. Mastercard insider sale filings
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and industry risks remain: With MA trading at roughly 31 times earnings, investors may be sensitive to slowing consumer spending, rising technology costs and regulatory scrutiny of payments and stablecoins.

Mastercard Company 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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