Hollencrest Capital Management Sells 71,726 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Hollencrest Capital Management trimmed its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 99.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 71,726 shares during the quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $58,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its position in Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,444,231,000 after acquiring an additional 72,461,743 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 861.6% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,324,743,000 after acquiring an additional 3,648,748 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 147.2% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 1,682,183 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $863,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,807,283,000 after purchasing an additional 997,536 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard News Summary

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

Mastercard Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $595.51 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $549.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $519.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The company has a market cap 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 0.72.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 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 $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MA. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $632.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price 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-five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $664.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total value of $8,838,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 93,693 shares in the company, valued at $53,873,475. The trade was a 14.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total value 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 represents a 10.74% 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 a total of 71,357 shares of company stock valued at $40,637,262 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.