1,785 Shares in Mastercard Incorporated $MA Purchased by Navigation Group LLC

Navigation Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,785 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $892,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd grew its stake in Mastercard by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 139,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $70,089,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,902,000 after purchasing an additional 9,795 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 396.3% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 46,145 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,343,000 after purchasing an additional 36,848 shares during the period. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $1,328,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of MA opened at $535.47 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $473.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $502.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $516.24.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.73 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Mastercard from $671.00 to $664.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $653.78.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its price target on Mastercard to $680 from $660 and kept an Outperform rating, citing expectations for revenue growth to accelerate as comparisons ease. Baird Raises PT on Mastercard (MA) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $640 price target, reinforcing Wall Street confidence in Mastercard’s long-term earnings power after a sector reset. Barclays Initiates Mastercard (MA) Coverage at Overweight
• Positive Sentiment: Several partnerships and network developments show Mastercard’s payment rails remain widely used, including RAKBANK strengthening its relationship with Mastercard and Kraken rolling out a Mastercard crypto debit card in the UK and Europe. RAKBANK and Mastercard strengthen strategic relationship to drive payments innovation Kraken rolls out Mastercard crypto debit card in UK and Europe
• Neutral Sentiment: The House passed a bill that would restrict how payment networks classify firearms retailers, which could create compliance changes for Mastercard but is not yet final law. Congress Vote: The House has passed H.R. 1181 – Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard-related commentary also pointed to ongoing value in the business model, with one analysis saying “the moat remains intact,” while another article noted Mastercard stock looks richer after recent gains and faces pressure from regulation and new competition. The Moat Remains Intact Mastercard (MA) Stock Looks Overvalued On Regulatory Pressure And New Competition

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total transaction of $1,047,276.21. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Mastercard

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.