Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Sells 4,401 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE cut its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 50.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,390 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 4,401 shares during the quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 820.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MA. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Dbs Bank upgraded Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.81.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard was upgraded by Piper Sandler to strong-buy, signaling improved analyst sentiment and supporting the stock. The Fly report on Piper Sandler upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is being mentioned as part of the new Open USD stablecoin consortium, which could strengthen its position in digital payments and cross-border settlement if adoption grows. Open USD consortium article
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced a new cybersecurity centre in Africa, a move that highlights investment in payment security and could support long-term network trust and adoption. Mastercard cybersecurity centre article
• Neutral Sentiment: A commentary piece questioned whether Mastercard trades at a premium valuation despite stablecoin-related developments, but it did not introduce a new fundamental catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate review of a Citi AAdvantage Mastercard credit card is consumer-oriented and not likely to materially affect Mastercard’s earnings outlook. CNBC Citi AAdvantage Globe Mastercard review

Mastercard Stock Up 1.8%

Mastercard stock opened at $522.60 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $496.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $519.05. The company has a market cap of $461.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.73.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.73 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.14%.

About Mastercard

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.