Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Inscription Capital LLC

Inscription Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 49.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 914 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 904 shares during the quarter. Inscription Capital LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Premier Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 102.6% during the second quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 79 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total transaction of $217,038.71. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,035,181.07. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total value of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at $23,613,851.08. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $15,428,736 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MA opened at $653.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $593.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $539.12. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $681.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $572.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.73% and a return on equity of 260.86%. The company had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.20%.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results beat expectations: revenue rose 14% year over year to $9.81 billion and adjusted EPS increased 21.2%. Services revenue grew 19%, although higher incentives were flagged as a concern. Mastercard’s 19% Services Growth Steals the Q3 Show: Buy or Hold MA?
• Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target to $735 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling potential upside in its view. Truist Financial rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded MA from Buy to Hold, despite lifting its target to $725. The mixed call may temper enthusiasm after the stock’s recent rally. Freedom Broker rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is a key risk: coverage notes the recent rally has outpaced changes in earnings estimates, leaving less room for disappointment. Rising incentives could also weigh on margins. Mastercard Stock Rose 22% in a Month. Here’s What Its Price Now Assumes
• Negative Sentiment: Visa and Mastercard face additional collective claims in the UK over card fees, adding potential legal and financial uncertainty. Visa and Mastercard face additional £5bn collective claims over card fees
• Neutral Sentiment: The CFO sold about $2.77 million of MA shares. The sale may attract attention, but the report provides no context on its purpose. Mastercard CFO stock sale

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MA. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $710.00 to $688.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Mizuho set a $711.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $725.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $665.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $704.62.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.