Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Bought by Wealth Science Advisors LLC

Wealth Science Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 612.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,995 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the quarter. Wealth Science Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $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 have sold 62,913 shares of company stock valued at $35,769,036 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 2.4%

MA opened at $562.20 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $522.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $515.41. 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 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $496.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.92, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.72.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted 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 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%.Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $661.93.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

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.

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.