Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Holdings Trimmed by Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 31.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,250 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,810 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fundsmith LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $639,458,000. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its holdings in Mastercard by 147.2% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 1,682,183 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $863,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001,671 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 295.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 860,011 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $441,702,000 after buying an additional 642,724 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,941,951 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,622,398,000 after buying an additional 611,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the first quarter valued at $293,574,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. 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 report on Thursday, July 30th. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Mastercard from $674.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Mastercard from $695.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $711.00 price target on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $705.67.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total transaction of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total transaction of $217,038.71. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. 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 have sold a total of 25,403 shares of company stock worth $15,428,736 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A fund with $4.5 billion in U.S. equities increased its Mastercard stake by 1,884% in the third quarter, a notable signal of institutional investor interest. Article: A Fund With $4.5 Billion in US Equities Just Bought These 3 Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Egypt’s Housing and Development Bank will use Mastercard’s platform and global network to expand its card offering, potentially supporting payment volume and reach. Article: Egypt’s HDB partners with Mastercard to expand card offer
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is backing Seattle startup Firmly’s work on AI shopping agents alongside JPMorgan, giving the company exposure to emerging commerce technology; the report does not specify the investment size. Article: JPMorgan and Mastercard back Seattle startup Firmly’s bet on AI shopping agents
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s Citi FinTech Conference appearance and CEO Michael Miebach’s profile may offer investor perspective, but the headlines provide no specific financial guidance or material new developments. Article: Mastercard presents at Citi’s 15th Annual FinTech Conference Article: How Mastercard’s Michael Miebach Learned to Love Collaboration
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing MA and WEX as value stocks does not provide a specific conclusion in the supplied summary. Mastercard also joined an Australian accessibility accreditation initiative, a reputational development with unclear near-term earnings impact. Article: WEX or MA: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now? Article: Mastercard, Telstra & Woolies Back New Accessibility Accreditation
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker cut Mastercard to Hold, signaling a more cautious view that could weigh on sentiment. Article: Mastercard Cut to Hold at Freedom Broker

Mastercard Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE MA opened at $655.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $574.07 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.78. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $681.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $594.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $539.76.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

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.