Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,436 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,461 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $57,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Foster Group Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 2,122 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Athena Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Novem Group boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Novem Group now owns 4,680 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 444 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Brandywine Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,842 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $665.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. 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 boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $682.66.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:MA traded up $11.65 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $614.89. 1,612,228 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,502,078. The firm has a market capitalization of $538.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.83, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $574.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $533.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $616.27.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.90 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.21, for a total value of $218,377.70. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,861,559.77. The trade was a 4.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total transaction of $8,838,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,873,475. This represents a 14.09% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 68,359 shares of company stock worth $39,290,046. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin platform expands Mastercard’s growth opportunity: Mastercard and BVNK launched the Mastercard Global Money Platform, a single API that enables banks, fintechs and businesses to manage fiat currencies and stablecoins. The product is the first major integration since Mastercard acquired BVNK in August and could increase Mastercard’s role in cross-border payments and digital-asset settlement. Mastercard and BVNK launch Global Money Platform
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish: Wall Street’s consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $681.56. Recent target increases from UBS, Daiwa Securities and Truist reinforce expectations for further upside, supporting demand for MA shares. Wall Street’s bullish views on Mastercard
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and earnings expectations are supportive: Technical coverage says Mastercard has moved above key buy points after an extended winning streak, while analysts anticipate double-digit earnings growth in the next report. Its prior quarter included EPS and revenue beats, with revenue up 14.1% year over year. Mastercard’s winning streak and chart outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Payments ecosystem continues to broaden: Mastercard is expanding into crypto-linked cards in Mexico, cybersecurity services in Africa and fleet payments across Asia-Pacific with WEX. These initiatives could support long-term transaction growth in emerging and commercial markets. Mastercard expands in Africa and Asia-Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Julius Genachowski sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions modestly reduced his holdings but are less significant as an indication of outlook because they were scheduled in advance. Mastercard director stock sale

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates the authorization, clearing and settlement of electronic payment transactions, while generally not issuing cards or extending credit itself. Its network supports payments made in stores, online and through mobile devices.

Mastercard’s products and services include consumer and commercial payment cards, digital payment solutions, payment processing, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, identity verification, data and analytics, and open banking tools.