Sarasin & Partners LLP Sells 1,211 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Sarasin & Partners LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 673,122 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,211 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for about 4.0% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $345,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.2% during the third quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,597 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its position in Mastercard by 1.1% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,717 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total value of $9,439,383.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,806,033.28. This trade represents a 12.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% 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 have sold 62,913 shares of company stock valued at $35,769,036. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE MA opened at $576.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $521.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $515.08. 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $509.09 billion, a PE ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.72.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MA. Clear Str raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $661.93.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin initiatives strengthen Mastercard’s growth outlook: Mastercard is partnering with Borderless.xyz to test trusted cross-border stablecoin payment flows using Mastercard Crypto Credential. The company is also a founding validator for Circle’s Arc blockchain, scheduled to launch on September 16, alongside BlackRock, Visa and other financial institutions. These initiatives could create future transaction, compliance and infrastructure revenue opportunities. Mastercard and Borderless.xyz stablecoin partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Fiserv deal expands merchant reach: Mastercard’s integration with Fiserv Commerce Hub will give enterprise merchants a single connection to Mastercard services across online, mobile and in-store channels, potentially increasing payment volume and adoption of higher-margin value-added services. Mastercard expands merchant reach through Fiserv
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable: Wall Street analysts continue to rate Mastercard positively, with Cantor Fitzgerald recently raising its price target to $695 and maintaining an overweight rating. The outlook is supported by Mastercard’s latest earnings beat, including revenue growth of 14.1% year over year. Wall Street outlook for Mastercard
• Neutral Sentiment: New Mastercard corporate cards in the UAE and Egypt and expanded premium travel benefits in Asia could support regional engagement, but the near-term earnings impact is likely limited. Mastercard corporate cards in the UAE and Egypt
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders sold shares: CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares for approximately $8.8 million, while J. Mehra Sachin sold 3,000 shares and Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick recently sold 4,280 shares. All transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing—but not eliminating—the bearish signal. Mastercard insider sale filings

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.