Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,004 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 47,675 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,004 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $26,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Montaka Global Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the third quarter. Montaka Global Pty Ltd now owns 20,759 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.4% during the third quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 71 West Capital Partners lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.1% in the third quarter. 71 West Capital Partners now owns 42,488 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,431,000 after buying an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 522 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5%

MA opened at $658.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $574.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $595.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $540.39. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $681.99. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The firm had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Freedom Broker cut shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $620.00 to $725.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on Mastercard from $710.00 to $688.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $701.00 price objective (up from $674.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $695.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $709.45.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its Mastercard price target from $675 to $800 and maintained a “buy” rating. The new target implies about 21.4% upside from the cited $658.91 price, signaling increased analyst optimism. TickerReport article
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard will be the card-network partner for Sage’s planned small-business accounts and debit cards, initially being implemented in France with Adyen. The arrangement could broaden Mastercard’s reach among small businesses. Sage partnership article
• Positive Sentiment: Other partnerships include a BMO business credit card in Canada and a Citizens treasury-management service using Mastercard technology, expanding its commercial-card and corporate-services footprint. Business banking partnerships article
• Positive Sentiment: Investor activity has also been supportive: one report said Pershing Square added to Mastercard in the second quarter, while another reported a fund increased its stake by 1,884% in the third quarter. Pershing Square holdings article Fund holdings article
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Michael Miebach described cybersecurity as a major concern for protecting financial infrastructure. The comments highlight an ongoing industry risk, but no specific breach or new Mastercard-related impact was reported. Cybersecurity interview

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total value of $1,907,344.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,403,600. This represents a 8.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.21, for a total transaction of $218,377.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,237 shares in the company, valued at $4,861,559.77. This represents a 4.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 25,403 shares of company stock worth $15,428,736 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard 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.