Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by WT Wealth Management

WT Wealth Management decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 27.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,083 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,530 shares during the period. WT Wealth Management’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 820.0% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 250.0% during the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE:MA opened at $499.71 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $496.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $519.84. The company has a market capitalization of $441.54 billion, a PE ratio of 28.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.73 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.14%.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard continues to attract investor interest as a trending stock, which can support shares by keeping attention on the company’s earnings and growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard highlighted new travel-focused offerings, including its “Priceless Africa” experience, reinforcing its strategy to deepen consumer engagement and build higher-value travel spending across its network. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and MarginEdge launched a commercial charge card for restaurants, a small but potentially useful expansion of Mastercard’s commercial payments footprint. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary continues to frame Mastercard as a premium payments company tied to international expansion, but some articles also argue the stock remains expensive and has lagged over longer periods, which could temper enthusiasm. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional pieces focused on broad “what to know” coverage and consumer trends, but did not report a major new catalyst that would materially change Mastercard’s near-term fundamentals. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $656.08.

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.