Parallel Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Parallel Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,309 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,002 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $20,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MA. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% during the third quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,597 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.1% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,717 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $977,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $571.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $504.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $517.87 and its 200 day moving average is $514.63. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.77 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.14%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total value of $9,439,383.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 115,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,806,033.28. The trade was a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total value of $2,534,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,625,225. This trade represents a 22.71% 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 40,261 shares of company stock worth $22,773,599 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MA. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $659.00.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BVNK acquisition expands digital-asset capabilities: Mastercard completed its purchase of stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK, a deal announced at a value of up to $1.8 billion. The acquisition is intended to connect fiat and digital currencies and strengthen Mastercard’s offerings to banks, businesses and other institutions adopting stablecoins. Mastercard completes acquisition of BVNK to advance global stablecoin capabilities
• Positive Sentiment: Fiserv partnership could drive merchant-services growth: Mastercard and Fiserv announced a global partnership combining Fiserv’s Commerce Hub with Mastercard’s merchant services. The collaboration is designed to help enterprise merchants improve payments across channels and markets, potentially increasing Mastercard’s business-to-business and value-added-services opportunities. Fiserv and Mastercard Deepen Global Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases reinforce bullish sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its Mastercard price target to $695 from $650 and maintained an “overweight” rating. Other reports also cited price-target increases to $680 and $685, suggesting analysts see additional upside following Mastercard’s strong earnings performance. Mastercard price target raised
• Positive Sentiment: Premium-card refresh supports payment volume and engagement: Mastercard, Citi and American Airlines introduced enhanced benefits for the Citi/AAdvantage Executive World Legend Mastercard, including expanded lounge access, rewards and travel-related perks. The initiative targets frequent premium travelers and could support spending activity on Mastercard’s network. Mastercard launches richer Citi AAdvantage Executive World Legend Card
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard announced six senior appointments across Asia Pacific and is reorganizing regional leadership. The moves may improve execution but have no immediate financial impact. Mastercard makes senior appointments across Asia Pacific
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Michael Miebach sold a combined 33,256 shares for approximately $19.1 million, reducing his direct holdings by roughly 26%. Because both sales occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, they may reflect scheduled diversification rather than a negative view of Mastercard’s outlook, limiting the bearish signal. Mastercard CEO SEC Form 4 filing

Mastercard Company 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.