Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,420 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,421 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.6% of University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,964,305 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,984,867,000 after purchasing an additional 486,283 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 10.4% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,123,041 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,559,779,000 after buying an additional 480,725 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Mastercard by 1.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,225,359 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,111,216,000 after acquiring an additional 42,871 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,626,416 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,862,527,000 after purchasing an additional 199,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 17.8% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,666,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,831,763,000 after acquiring an additional 554,366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Dbs Bank upgraded Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Mizuho set a $711.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $701.00 price objective (up from $674.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Clear Str upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $704.62.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results beat expectations: revenue rose 14% year over year to $9.81 billion and adjusted EPS increased 21.2%. Services revenue grew 19%, although higher incentives were flagged as a concern. Mastercard’s 19% Services Growth Steals the Q3 Show: Buy or Hold MA?
• Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target to $735 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling potential upside in its view. Truist Financial rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded MA from Buy to Hold, despite lifting its target to $725. The mixed call may temper enthusiasm after the stock’s recent rally. Freedom Broker rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is a key risk: coverage notes the recent rally has outpaced changes in earnings estimates, leaving less room for disappointment. Rising incentives could also weigh on margins. Mastercard Stock Rose 22% in a Month. Here’s What Its Price Now Assumes
• Negative Sentiment: Visa and Mastercard face additional collective claims in the UK over card fees, adding potential legal and financial uncertainty. Visa and Mastercard face additional £5bn collective claims over card fees
• Neutral Sentiment: The CFO sold about $2.77 million of MA shares. The sale may attract attention, but the report provides no context on its purpose. Mastercard CFO stock sale

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

MA opened at $653.45 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $593.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $539.12. The company has a market cap of $572.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $681.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.66 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.73% and a return on equity of 260.86%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.20%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $641.00, for a total value of $2,767,197.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 35,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,915,750. This trade represents a 10.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total transaction of $1,907,344.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 36,650 shares in the company, valued at $21,403,600. The trade was a 8.18% 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. Insiders sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $15,428,736 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses and governments. Its network supports electronic payments, including transactions made with Mastercard-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards, as well as digital payment methods.

The company provides technology for authorizing, clearing and settling transactions. It also offers services related to cybersecurity, identity verification, data analytics, fraud prevention and payment consulting.