Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Sells 1,013 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lessened its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 15.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,671 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,013 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.4% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 28,205 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $14,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.2% in the second quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 141,828 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $72,843,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.3% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,656,528 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $850,004,000 after purchasing an additional 82,793 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 50.1% during the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 14,003 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $6,996,000 after buying an additional 4,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 81,392 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $44,885,000 after buying an additional 4,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of MA opened at $658.91 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $595.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $540.39. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $681.99. The stock has a market cap of $574.03 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.73% and a return on equity of 260.86%. The firm had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 18.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total value of $1,907,344.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,650 shares in the company, valued at $21,403,600. This represents a 8.18% decrease in their position. 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, Director Julius Genachowski sold 370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.21, for a total transaction of $218,377.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,237 shares in the company, valued at $4,861,559.77. This represents a 4.30% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $15,428,736. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $631.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $597.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $722.00 to $735.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Mastercard from $660.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Clear Str raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $709.45.

Key Stories Impacting 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

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.