Washington Trust Bank Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Washington Trust Bank reduced its Mastercard stake by 8% in the second quarter, selling 3,118 shares and retaining 36,022 shares valued at approximately $18.5 million. Mastercard represents about 1.3% of the bank’s portfolio.
• Despite the reduction, institutional ownership remains high at 97.28%, with several large investors increasing their positions during recent quarters.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with Mastercard receiving a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $664.71; the company also recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates.

Washington Trust Bank cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,022 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,118 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 1.3% of Washington Trust Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Washington Trust Bank's holdings in Mastercard were worth $18,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $41,444,231,000 after buying an additional 72,461,743 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 861.6% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,324,743,000 after buying an additional 3,648,748 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 147.2% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 1,682,183 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $863,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $20,807,283,000 after acquiring an additional 997,536 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $664.71.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $595.51 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $549.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $519.62. The stock has a market capitalization 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.14%.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total transaction of $9,439,383.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,806,033.28. This represents a 12.54% 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 71,357 shares of company stock worth $40,637,262. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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