Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Lowers Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 24.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 35,062 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 11,100 shares during the quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $17,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,902,000 after buying an additional 9,795 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in Mastercard by 396.3% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 46,145 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,343,000 after buying an additional 36,848 shares during the period. Marble Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,328,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 65,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $37,344,000 after acquiring an additional 3,768 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard continues to attract investor interest as a trending stock, which can support shares by keeping attention on the company’s earnings and growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard highlighted new travel-focused offerings, including its “Priceless Africa” experience, reinforcing its strategy to deepen consumer engagement and build higher-value travel spending across its network. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and MarginEdge launched a commercial charge card for restaurants, a small but potentially useful expansion of Mastercard’s commercial payments footprint. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary continues to frame Mastercard as a premium payments company tied to international expansion, but some articles also argue the stock remains expensive and has lagged over longer periods, which could temper enthusiasm. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional pieces focused on broad “what to know” coverage and consumer trends, but did not report a major new catalyst that would materially change Mastercard’s near-term fundamentals. Article Title

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $499.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $441.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $496.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $519.84.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.73 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.6 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 20.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Dbs Bank raised Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Mastercard in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.08.

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.