Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Holdings Lessened by Ayrshire Capital Management LLC

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,242 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 813 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up 3.4% of Ayrshire Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $7,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Mastercard by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Investment Research Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 763 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Group LLC raised its stake in Mastercard by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 776 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard introduced a Stablecoin Security tool that combines payment and blockchain intelligence to identify fraud, scams and sanctions exposure before stablecoin transactions are completed. The product could support adoption of blockchain-based payments while creating additional risk-management revenue opportunities. Mastercard introduces risk intelligence to enable more secure stablecoin payments
• Positive Sentiment: The company is expanding its crypto team and integrating stablecoin cards and payment capabilities across roughly 130 countries, reinforcing Mastercard’s position as traditional networks connect digital assets with fiat commerce. Stablecoin payments were reported to have grown 45% to $482 billion. Mastercard expands crypto team as stablecoins take center stage
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched an AI-powered Agent Detection Score to estimate whether a transaction was initiated by software rather than a person. The tool may help the network manage fraud and trust risks as autonomous shopping agents become more common. Mastercard unveiled an AI Agent Detection Score
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships with Extend, Moovn, BankIslami and Powertranz are broadening Mastercard’s business-software, African, Pakistani and restaurant-payment offerings, potentially supporting long-term transaction-volume growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: U.S. officials are pressing China on independent market access for Mastercard’s network. Greater access would be a significant growth opportunity, but the outcome and timing remain uncertain. U.S. officials press China on market access
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares worth approximately $2.7 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sale is a modest negative sentiment signal, although scheduled insider selling does not necessarily indicate a change in business outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: With Mastercard trading near its 52-week high at a valuation of roughly 33 times earnings, expectations are elevated. Investors may demand continued strong growth beyond the most recent quarter’s 14.1% revenue increase and earnings beat.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 4,317 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $620.00, for a total value of $2,676,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,165,000. This represents a 10.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 72,676 shares of company stock valued at $41,966,586. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MA. Dbs Bank raised Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Mastercard from $597.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. President Capital increased their price objective on Mastercard from $693.00 to $729.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $682.66.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.1%

Mastercard stock opened at $616.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $540.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $577.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $536.11. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $622.49.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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 $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.14%.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payments and provides technology that supports transactions conducted through credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment products.

In addition to operating its payments network, Mastercard offers services in areas such as payment security, fraud prevention, authentication, cybersecurity, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital identity and open banking.