Dearborn Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 64,596 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $32,276,000. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.5% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring 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

MA opened at $591.35 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $547.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $519.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $518.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.72. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $601.62.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 currently 19.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total value of $8,838,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,693 shares in the company, valued at $53,873,475. This trade represents a 14.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,357 shares of company stock valued at $40,637,262. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More 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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MA shares. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler began coverage on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Mastercard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $664.71.

Mastercard 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.