Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock: Sowell Financial Services LLC Reduces Holdings

Sowell Financial Services LLC trimmed its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 31,220 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,352 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $17,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. City State Bank lifted its position in Mastercard by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. City State Bank now owns 700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Berkeley Inc boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Berkeley Inc now owns 15,762 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $8,692,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 25,368 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $15,343,000 after acquiring an additional 2,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bell Bank now owns 5,627 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,103,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $622.28 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $579.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $537.92. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $624.66. The company has a market capitalization of $545.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.76. 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 (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MA shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Mastercard from $655.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $682.66.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched its Global Money Platform with BVNK, enabling businesses to hold, convert and spend stablecoins alongside traditional currencies. The platform could create additional cross-border payment volume and strengthen Mastercard’s position as digital assets become integrated with mainstream commerce. Mastercard BVNK stablecoin platform
• Positive Sentiment: The company introduced Stablecoin Security, an API that screens transactions for fraud, scams and sanctions exposure before funds move on-chain. The product may reduce banks’ compliance concerns and provide Mastercard with a new risk-management revenue stream while supporting broader stablecoin adoption. Mastercard stablecoin security
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is opening developer APIs and demonstrating agent-pay capabilities that allow AI software to make multiple merchant payments within an approved budget. The initiative positions the network to capture emerging autonomous-commerce transactions and builds on the company’s data and AI capabilities. Mastercard AI agent payments
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and financial commentators view Mastercard as a high-quality compounder that may still be reasonably valued: shares trade at about 33.4 times earnings versus a recent 12-quarter average of 34.8 times. However, comparative value coverage of Corpay and Mastercard suggests investors are weighing MA’s stronger growth and margins against its higher valuation. Is the market underpricing Mastercard
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard’s CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares worth approximately $2.7 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled nature of the transaction limits its significance, but it remains a modest negative sentiment factor while the stock trades near record levels.
• Negative Sentiment: With MA valued at roughly 33 times earnings and near its 52-week high, expectations remain elevated. Investors will likely require continued strong execution after the latest quarter’s 14.1% revenue growth and earnings beat to justify further multiple expansion.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 31,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,781,695.49. The trade was a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total value of $217,038.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,035,181.07. This represents a 4.13% 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 72,676 shares of company stock valued at $41,966,586. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Company Profile

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.