Westwind Capital Trims Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Westwind Capital reduced its Mastercard stake by 7.3% in the third quarter, selling 2,784 shares and retaining 35,217 shares valued at approximately $19.4 million. Mastercard remains 4.7% of the firm’s portfolio and its sixth-largest holding.
• Mastercard reported quarterly earnings of $5.04 per share, exceeding estimates of $4.77, while revenue rose 14.1% year over year to $9.28 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, equivalent to a 0.6% yield.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $680 price target versus the stock’s reported price of $574.83. Meanwhile, insiders sold $38.9 million of shares over the past 90 days, and institutional investors own 97.28% of the stock.

Westwind Capital trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,217 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 2,784 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 4.7% of Westwind Capital's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Westwind Capital's holdings in Mastercard were worth $19,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MA. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 139,844 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $70,089,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504 shares during the period. Charles Lim Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $15,699,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in Mastercard by 5.4% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 28,205 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $14,093,000 after buying an additional 1,434 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 105.1% during the first quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 12,834 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,412,000 after buying an additional 6,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 50.1% during the first quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 14,003 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $6,996,000 after buying an additional 4,675 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,781,695.49. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total value of $1,907,344.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 36,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,403,600. This trade represents a 8.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,618 shares of company stock worth $38,854,630. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.8%

MA stock traded up $4.77 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $574.83. 3,391,326 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,521,593. The company has a market cap of $503.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $571.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $530.74. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.23.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 19.14%.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: SoFi launched stablecoin-based card settlement on Mastercard’s network and is projecting more than $25 billion in annual volume. The initiative could strengthen Mastercard’s role in institutional digital-asset payments and create additional transaction revenue. SoFi launches stablecoin card settlement on Mastercard
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding offline payment capabilities across Europe, allowing transactions to continue during power or network outages. The feature may improve network resilience and customer value. Mastercard offline payments in Europe
• Positive Sentiment: New collaborations in Bahrain and with gaming platform Tamatem are expanding Mastercard’s small-business, digital-commerce and gaming payment reach in the Middle East. Mastercard and stc pay Bahrain collaboration Mastercard and Tamatem gaming payments
• Positive Sentiment: Autonomous Research made only a minor reduction to its price target, to $686 from $687, while maintaining an Outperform rating. Autonomous Research Mastercard price target

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Mastercard from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $642.00 to $696.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $680.00.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated NYSE: MA is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates the authorization, clearing and settlement of electronic payment transactions, while generally not issuing cards or extending credit itself. Its network supports payments made in stores, online and through mobile devices.

Mastercard's products and services include consumer and commercial payment cards, digital payment solutions, payment processing, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, identity verification, data and analytics, and open banking tools.

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