Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Boosts Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 1.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 147,633 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises approximately 4.6% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $75,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 264,679 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $135,939,000 after purchasing an additional 7,403 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.3% in the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 9,573 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $4,917,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Rational Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 9.2% in the second quarter. Rational Advisors Inc. now owns 322 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co increased its holdings in Mastercard by 17.6% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 5,233 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,688,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mastercard by 26.1% in the second quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 123,446 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $63,402,000 after buying an additional 25,533 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 7,444 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total transaction of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. This trade represents a 15.39% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,357 shares of company stock valued at $40,637,262. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Mastercard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $664.71.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and QNB Group processed Syria’s first international card transaction in more than 15 years. The milestone marks the reopening and modernization of Syria’s international payments infrastructure following the lifting of certain U.S. restrictions. Although the near-term financial contribution is likely to be small, the development creates a potential new market and demonstrates Mastercard’s ability to support payments expansion. Syria marks first international card transaction in more than 15 years with Mastercard and QNB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have given Mastercard a consensus “Buy” rating. Continued Wall Street support adds to the bullish backdrop, though the rating itself may already be reflected in the share price. Mastercard Incorporated Given Consensus Rating of Buy by Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman added Mastercard to the hedge fund’s portfolio. The purchase may improve investor sentiment by signaling confidence from a prominent long-term investor, although it does not change Mastercard’s operating outlook. Bill Ackman Just Made His Biggest Portfolio Overhaul in Years
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership with Klook targets growing travel and experiences spending across Asia Pacific. Mastercard cardholder benefits and additional travel-related payment touchpoints could support transaction volume in a high-growth region. Klook and Mastercard collaborate to enhance travelers’ experiences across Asia Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard will participate in the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 10, where CFO Ling Hai is scheduled to speak. Investors may look for updates on growth, margins and capital allocation, but no new financial information was provided. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s name appears as a supporter of an XRPL/Ripple hackathon, but reports caution that the sponsorship does not represent a new cryptocurrency partnership or major product launch. Mastercard’s Name Is on the Ripple Hackathon, But Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself

Mastercard Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $595.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $521.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.72. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $549.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $519.62.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.14%.

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.