Montaka Global Pty Ltd Purchases 1,274 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Montaka Global Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,759 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,274 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 4.6% of Montaka Global Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Montaka Global Pty Ltd’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. D.B. Root & Company LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 3.4% in the third quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 2,156 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,045 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 71 West Capital Partners lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. 71 West Capital Partners now owns 42,488 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $23,431,000 after buying an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 522 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its Mastercard price target from $675 to $800 and maintained a “buy” rating. The new target implies about 21.4% upside from the cited $658.91 price, signaling increased analyst optimism. TickerReport article
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard will be the card-network partner for Sage’s planned small-business accounts and debit cards, initially being implemented in France with Adyen. The arrangement could broaden Mastercard’s reach among small businesses. Sage partnership article
• Positive Sentiment: Other partnerships include a BMO business credit card in Canada and a Citizens treasury-management service using Mastercard technology, expanding its commercial-card and corporate-services footprint. Business banking partnerships article
• Positive Sentiment: Investor activity has also been supportive: one report said Pershing Square added to Mastercard in the second quarter, while another reported a fund increased its stake by 1,884% in the third quarter. Pershing Square holdings article Fund holdings article
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Michael Miebach described cybersecurity as a major concern for protecting financial infrastructure. The comments highlight an ongoing industry risk, but no specific breach or new Mastercard-related impact was reported. Cybersecurity interview

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $658.91 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $595.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $540.39. The company has a market cap of $574.03 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $681.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a return on equity of 260.86% and a net margin of 46.73%. The company had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 18.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Freedom Broker cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $620.00 to $725.00 in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Mastercard from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Dbs Bank upgraded Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mastercard from $668.00 to $731.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $709.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of Mastercard 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 Mastercard stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 35,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,966,872.50. This trade represents a 10.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months, insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $15,428,736. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Company 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.