Michael Miebach Sells 16,628 Shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) Stock

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total value of $9,644,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 109,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,257,700. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Michael Miebach also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, July 31st, Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of Mastercard stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total value of $9,439,383.04.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $571.26. The company had a trading volume of 3,135,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,761,668. The stock has a market cap of $504.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.71. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $601.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $516.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $514.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MA shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $631.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $659.00.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial lifted its position in Mastercard by 113.8% during the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BVNK acquisition completed: Mastercard finalized its purchase of stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK for up to $1.8 billion. The deal gives Mastercard technology to connect fiat and digital currencies, support stablecoin settlement and offer banks and businesses additional payment rails. This could create a long-term growth opportunity, though the financial contribution is likely to build gradually. Mastercard completes BVNK acquisition to boost stablecoin infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded Fiserv partnership: Mastercard and Fiserv are combining Fiserv’s Commerce Hub with Mastercard’s merchant services to help large businesses improve payment performance across channels and international markets. The agreement could increase Mastercard’s enterprise acceptance and services revenue. Fiserv and Mastercard Deepen Global Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Higher analyst targets: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its Mastercard price target to $695 from $650 and maintained an Overweight rating. Other recent targets were raised to $680 and $685, reinforcing expectations for further upside based on Mastercard’s earnings growth and strategic initiatives. Cantor Fitzgerald target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Premium card and international expansion: Mastercard, Citi and American Airlines launched an upgraded AAdvantage Executive World Legend card with enhanced lounge access, rewards and travel benefits. Mastercard also announced six senior Asia-Pacific appointments and expanded stablecoin settlement support in Bahrain, supporting its premium-card and international growth strategies. Mastercard launches richer Citi AAdvantage card
• Neutral Sentiment: Execution and regulatory considerations: BVNK broadens Mastercard’s exposure to digital assets, but the acquisition requires substantial execution and remains subject to evolving stablecoin regulation, adoption rates and competition. Recent weakness in Circle shares also highlights investor uncertainty surrounding the stablecoin market. Why Circle Internet Stock Is Slumping

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.