Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Purchased by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,673 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,150 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $51,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MA. Fundsmith LLP acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth $639,458,000. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 147.2% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 1,682,183 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $863,969,000 after buying an additional 1,001,671 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Mastercard by 295.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 860,011 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $441,702,000 after acquiring an additional 642,724 shares during the last quarter. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at about $293,574,000. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in Mastercard by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 2,464,499 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,231,412,000 after acquiring an additional 575,412 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,318 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $642.43, for a total value of $2,774,012.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,966,872.50. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total value of $217,038.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,035,181.07. This trade represents a 4.13% 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. Insiders sold a total of 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $15,428,736 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock traded down $2.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $653.45. The stock had a trading volume of 3,293,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,281,489. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $593.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $539.12. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $681.99. The stock has a market cap of $572.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Clear Str upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $720.00 to $755.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $674.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $620.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $704.62.

About Mastercard

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.