Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Has $43.72 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 21.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,132 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 23,899 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.6% of Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $43,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position 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 buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 113.8% during the 1st 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 period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Clear Str upgraded Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Five investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $661.93.

Mastercard Trading Down 2.4%

MA opened at $562.20 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $496.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $522.37 and its 200 day moving average is $515.41.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 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: Stablecoin initiatives create new growth opportunities: Mastercard is partnering with Borderless.xyz to test trusted cross-border stablecoin payment flows using Mastercard Crypto Credential. It is also a founding validator for Circle’s Arc blockchain, which is scheduled to launch on September 16. These efforts could produce future transaction-processing, compliance and infrastructure revenue. Mastercard and Borderless.xyz stablecoin partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Fiserv partnership expands Mastercard’s merchant reach: Connecting Mastercard Merchant Cloud with Fiserv Commerce Hub will give enterprise merchants broader access to payment services across online, mobile and in-store channels, potentially supporting transaction growth and value-added-services revenue. Mastercard expands merchant reach through Fiserv
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish: Wall Street maintains a favorable view of MA, with recent target increases including Cantor Fitzgerald’s $695 target. The optimism follows Mastercard’s latest earnings beat: quarterly EPS was $5.04 versus $4.77 expected, while revenue rose 14.1% year over year to $9.28 billion. Wall Street outlook for Mastercard
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s corporate-card launches in the UAE and Egypt and expanded premium travel benefits in Asia may increase regional usage, although the immediate earnings contribution is likely limited. Mastercard regional card expansion
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders sold shares: CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares for about $8.8 million, while J. Mehra Sachin sold 3,000 shares and Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares. All trades were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, which reduces their predictive value, but the cluster of sales can still pressure investor sentiment. Mastercard insider sale filings
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and industry risks remain: With MA trading at roughly 31 times earnings, investors may be sensitive to slowing consumer spending, rising technology costs and regulatory scrutiny of payments and stablecoins.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total transaction of $1,047,276.21. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 62,913 shares of company stock worth $35,769,036 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.