Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Position Lowered by University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,420 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,421 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 1.6% of University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Premier Financial Group purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 102.6% during the second quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 79 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total value of $4,296,155.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 40,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,613,851.08. The trade was a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Ling Hai sold 4,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $642.43, for a total transaction of $2,774,012.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 35,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,966,872.50. This trade represents a 10.78% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,403 shares of company stock worth $15,428,736. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results beat expectations: revenue rose 14% year over year to $9.81 billion and adjusted EPS increased 21.2%. Services revenue grew 19%, although higher incentives were flagged as a concern. Mastercard’s 19% Services Growth Steals the Q3 Show: Buy or Hold MA?
• Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target to $735 and maintained a Buy rating, signaling potential upside in its view. Truist Financial rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded MA from Buy to Hold, despite lifting its target to $725. The mixed call may temper enthusiasm after the stock’s recent rally. Freedom Broker rating information
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is a key risk: coverage notes the recent rally has outpaced changes in earnings estimates, leaving less room for disappointment. Rising incentives could also weigh on margins. Mastercard Stock Rose 22% in a Month. Here’s What Its Price Now Assumes
• Negative Sentiment: Visa and Mastercard face additional collective claims in the UK over card fees, adding potential legal and financial uncertainty. Visa and Mastercard face additional £5bn collective claims over card fees
• Neutral Sentiment: The CFO sold about $2.77 million of MA shares. The sale may attract attention, but the report provides no context on its purpose. Mastercard CFO stock sale

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $668.00 to $731.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $667.00 to $726.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $720.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $694.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $704.62.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:MA opened at $653.45 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $681.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $593.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $539.12. The firm has a market cap of $572.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.78.

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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.20%.

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.