Mastercard (NYSE:MA) CEO Michael Miebach Sells 15,372 Shares of Stock

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total transaction of $8,838,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,873,475. This trade represents a 14.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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.

Michael Miebach also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, July 31st, Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of Mastercard stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total transaction of $9,439,383.04.
• On Monday, August 3rd, Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of Mastercard stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $580.00, for a total transaction of $9,644,240.00.

Mastercard Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of MA opened at $576.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $521.01 and its 200-day moving average is $515.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $509.09 billion, a PE ratio of 31.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.72.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.78 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. 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 is presently 19.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Betterment LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,548,000 after buying an additional 178,387 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $431,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin initiatives strengthen Mastercard’s growth outlook: Mastercard is partnering with Borderless.xyz to test trusted cross-border stablecoin payment flows using Mastercard Crypto Credential. The company is also a founding validator for Circle’s Arc blockchain, scheduled to launch on September 16, alongside BlackRock, Visa and other financial institutions. These initiatives could create future transaction, compliance and infrastructure revenue opportunities. Mastercard and Borderless.xyz stablecoin partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Fiserv deal expands merchant reach: Mastercard’s integration with Fiserv Commerce Hub will give enterprise merchants a single connection to Mastercard services across online, mobile and in-store channels, potentially increasing payment volume and adoption of higher-margin value-added services. Mastercard expands merchant reach through Fiserv
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable: Wall Street analysts continue to rate Mastercard positively, with Cantor Fitzgerald recently raising its price target to $695 and maintaining an overweight rating. The outlook is supported by Mastercard’s latest earnings beat, including revenue growth of 14.1% year over year. Wall Street outlook for Mastercard
• Neutral Sentiment: New Mastercard corporate cards in the UAE and Egypt and expanded premium travel benefits in Asia could support regional engagement, but the near-term earnings impact is likely limited. Mastercard corporate cards in the UAE and Egypt
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders sold shares: CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares for approximately $8.8 million, while J. Mehra Sachin sold 3,000 shares and Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick recently sold 4,280 shares. All transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing—but not eliminating—the bearish signal. Mastercard insider sale filings

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MA. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $661.93.

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.