Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 74,375 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group reduced its stake in Mastercard by 3.3%, selling 74,375 shares in Q4 and now holds 2,159,014 shares worth about $1.23 billion (≈0.24% of Mastercard), representing 0.7% of the fund's portfolio and its 16th largest holding.
• Mastercard beat expectations with quarterly EPS of $4.76 (vs. $4.24 est.) and revenue of $8.81 billion, with revenue up 17.5% year‑over‑year and strong profitability (net margin 45.65%, ROE 203.92%).
• Analysts are largely positive on MA—six Strong Buy, twenty Buy and one Sell—giving an average price target of $664.40, with recent targets in the roughly $631–$735 range.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,159,014 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 74,375 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 0.7% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Mastercard worth $1,232,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Robbins Farley increased its stake in Mastercard by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc increased its stake in Mastercard by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dagco Inc. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Dagco Inc. now owns 66 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Compass Point raised Mastercard from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Mastercard from $707.00 to $631.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore reissued a "negative" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $664.40.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $498.80 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $513.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $541.79. The company has a market capitalization of $444.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $480.50 and a 52 week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.82 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 21.07%.

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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