AMI Asset Management Corp Lowers Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

AMI Asset Management Corp cut its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,270 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,251 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 2.3% of AMI Asset Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $35,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 150.5% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 526 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,736 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC raised its holdings in Mastercard by 6.8% in the first quarter. EWA LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Simmons Bank raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.6% in the first quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 7,013 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,504,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Finally, Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.2% during the first quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,678 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MA shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Susquehanna decreased their price target 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. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $653.81.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $510.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $451.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $496.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $519.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.14%.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched an Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, expanding its role in protecting digital payments and strengthening its presence in a fast-growing region. Mastercard Launches Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence to Help Secure the Continent’s Digital Future
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard said it is working with quantum computing firm OQC to improve fraud detection, which could help address a large and growing payments fraud problem and support long-term network security. Mastercard (MA) Stock Rises as It Taps Quantum Tech to Fight $343 Billion Fraud Problem
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and Visa received preliminary court approval for a multibillion-dollar merchant fee settlement, reducing legal uncertainty around interchange-fee litigation. Mastercard (MA) Gets Early Court Approval In Merchant Fee Settlement With Visa
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also announced a collaboration with Mashreq to expand quick-remit cross-border payment corridors, which could support transaction growth and international volume. Mashreq collaborates with Mastercard to expand quick remit cross-border payment corridors

Mastercard 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.