Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Purchased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 381,098 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 0.9% of Candriam S.C.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $210,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atlatl Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the third quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 586 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% during the third quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 2,122 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% during the third quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 492 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Athena Wealth Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $653.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $593.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $539.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $572.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $681.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The business had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 18.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $620.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $580.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Mastercard from $696.00 to $742.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Mastercard from $720.00 to $755.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Mastercard from $667.00 to $726.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $704.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total transaction of $217,038.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,607 shares in the company, valued at $5,035,181.07. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,318 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $642.43, for a total transaction of $2,774,012.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,966,872.50. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock worth $15,428,736 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.