Insider Selling: Mastercard (NYSE:MA) CEO Sells 16,628 Shares of Stock

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total value of $9,644,240.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 109,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,257,700. This represents a 13.23% decrease in their position. The sale 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.

Michael Miebach also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, July 31st, Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of Mastercard stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total value of $9,439,383.04.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:MA traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $571.26. 3,135,443 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,761,668. The company has a fifty day moving average of $516.33 and a 200 day moving average of $514.45. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $504.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.72 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Clear Str raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $659.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MA. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 139,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,089,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,902,000 after buying an additional 9,795 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 65,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,344,000 after buying an additional 3,768 shares during the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,328,000. Finally, Charles Lim Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $15,699,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BVNK acquisition completed: Mastercard finalized its purchase of stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK for up to $1.8 billion. The deal gives Mastercard technology to connect fiat and digital currencies, support stablecoin settlement and offer banks and businesses additional payment rails. This could create a long-term growth opportunity, though the financial contribution is likely to build gradually. Mastercard completes BVNK acquisition to boost stablecoin infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded Fiserv partnership: Mastercard and Fiserv are combining Fiserv’s Commerce Hub with Mastercard’s merchant services to help large businesses improve payment performance across channels and international markets. The agreement could increase Mastercard’s enterprise acceptance and services revenue. Fiserv and Mastercard Deepen Global Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Higher analyst targets: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its Mastercard price target to $695 from $650 and maintained an Overweight rating. Other recent targets were raised to $680 and $685, reinforcing expectations for further upside based on Mastercard’s earnings growth and strategic initiatives. Cantor Fitzgerald target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Premium card and international expansion: Mastercard, Citi and American Airlines launched an upgraded AAdvantage Executive World Legend card with enhanced lounge access, rewards and travel benefits. Mastercard also announced six senior Asia-Pacific appointments and expanded stablecoin settlement support in Bahrain, supporting its premium-card and international growth strategies. Mastercard launches richer Citi AAdvantage card
• Neutral Sentiment: Execution and regulatory considerations: BVNK broadens Mastercard’s exposure to digital assets, but the acquisition requires substantial execution and remains subject to evolving stablecoin regulation, adoption rates and competition. Recent weakness in Circle shares also highlights investor uncertainty surrounding the stablecoin market. Why Circle Internet Stock Is Slumping

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.