Mastercard Incorporated $MA is XXEC Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

XXEC Inc. lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 95,940 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 8,381 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.1% of XXEC Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. XXEC Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $47,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MA. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in Mastercard by 113.8% during the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $591.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $547.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $519.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $518.03 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.62.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $0.87 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 19.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total value of $1,047,276.21. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,702,934.17. This trade represents a 10.74% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 71,357 shares of company stock worth $40,637,262. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $701.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $664.71.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard has restarted international card-payment services in Syria for the first time in roughly 15 years after regulatory changes, potentially reopening transaction-volume opportunities in the country. Visa is also entering the market, limiting Mastercard’s ability to capture the opportunity exclusively. Visa, Mastercard begin first Syria global card payments in years
• Positive Sentiment: A new partnership with Asia-Pacific travel-experiences platform Klook aims to provide Mastercard cardholders with travel benefits and create additional spending touchpoints as experience-led tourism expands across the region. The initiative could support cross-border payments and customer engagement, although financial terms were not disclosed. Klook and Mastercard collaborate to enhance travelers’ experiences across Asia Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard said CFO Ling Hai will speak at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 10. The presentation may offer updates on growth, travel spending and digital payments, but it does not change current financial guidance. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s name appears as a supporter of a Ripple XRPL hackathon, highlighting continued interest in blockchain development. However, the event is not evidence of a major XRP or XRPL commercial rollout by Mastercard. Mastercard’s Name Is on the Ripple Hackathon, But Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary argues that Mastercard’s strong earnings profile and roughly 61% net margin are already reflected in the stock’s elevated valuation. The shares’ retreat after nearing their high may therefore reflect profit-taking and concern that further gains require continued strong execution. Mastercard’s Record Stalls With 61% Margin Already Priced In

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.