Camelot Portfolios LLC Purchases 1,577 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Camelot Portfolios LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 153.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,608 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,577 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.9% of Camelot Portfolios LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Camelot Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its position in Mastercard by 820.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and QNB Group processed Syria’s first international card transaction in more than 15 years. The milestone marks the reopening and modernization of Syria’s international payments infrastructure following the lifting of certain U.S. restrictions. Although the near-term financial contribution is likely to be small, the development creates a potential new market and demonstrates Mastercard’s ability to support payments expansion. Syria marks first international card transaction in more than 15 years with Mastercard and QNB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have given Mastercard a consensus “Buy” rating. Continued Wall Street support adds to the bullish backdrop, though the rating itself may already be reflected in the share price. Mastercard Incorporated Given Consensus Rating of Buy by Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman added Mastercard to the hedge fund’s portfolio. The purchase may improve investor sentiment by signaling confidence from a prominent long-term investor, although it does not change Mastercard’s operating outlook. Bill Ackman Just Made His Biggest Portfolio Overhaul in Years
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership with Klook targets growing travel and experiences spending across Asia Pacific. Mastercard cardholder benefits and additional travel-related payment touchpoints could support transaction volume in a high-growth region. Klook and Mastercard collaborate to enhance travelers’ experiences across Asia Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard will participate in the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 10, where CFO Ling Hai is scheduled to speak. Investors may look for updates on growth, margins and capital allocation, but no new financial information was provided. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s name appears as a supporter of an XRPL/Ripple hackathon, but reports caution that the sponsorship does not represent a new cryptocurrency partnership or major product launch. Mastercard’s Name Is on the Ripple Hackathon, But Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,357 shares of company stock worth $40,637,262. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $664.71.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $595.51 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $601.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $521.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $549.15 and a 200-day moving average of $519.51.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

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.