Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock: Cornerstone Advisors LLC Lowers Position

Cornerstone Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,714 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 9,143 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.8% of Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $24,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the third quarter valued at about $73,000. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Mastercard by 21.9% during the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,469 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 2,724 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,386,119 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,418,813,000 after purchasing an additional 28,834 shares during the period. Finally, Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. now owns 426 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here’s some of the latest news about MA:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its EPS estimates across multiple periods, including FY2027 to $22.98 from $22.34 and FY2028 to $26.45 from $25.74. The broad upward revisions suggest improving expectations for earnings growth. Mastercard analyst estimates
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership with Sage will bring Mastercard debit-card capabilities into accounting software for small businesses in France, potentially widening its reach in business payments. Mastercard valuation and Sage partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage also cites favorable analyst views of Mastercard, but the articles provide limited detail on new price targets or near-term earnings impact. With no major downside catalyst in the supplied reports, the recent news flow appears modestly supportive rather than a clear standalone driver of the shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MA. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $680.00 to $713.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $620.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $631.00 to $647.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $725.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $713.21.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.21, for a total transaction of $218,377.70. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,861,559.77. The trade was a 4.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $641.00, for a total value of $2,767,197.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 35,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,915,750. This represents a 10.77% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock worth $15,428,736. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $661.13 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $600.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $542.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $681.99. The company has a market cap of $575.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The company had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.20%.

About Mastercard

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.