Mastercard Incorporated $MA is Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s 10th Largest Position

Carderock Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,357 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for about 2.7% of Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Carderock Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $12,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $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% during 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 period. Betterment LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 6.5% in the second 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 last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 35.8% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $431,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BVNK acquisition expands digital-asset capabilities: Mastercard completed its purchase of stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK, a deal announced at a value of up to $1.8 billion. The acquisition is intended to connect fiat and digital currencies and strengthen Mastercard’s offerings to banks, businesses and other institutions adopting stablecoins. Mastercard completes acquisition of BVNK to advance global stablecoin capabilities
• Positive Sentiment: Fiserv partnership could drive merchant-services growth: Mastercard and Fiserv announced a global partnership combining Fiserv’s Commerce Hub with Mastercard’s merchant services. The collaboration is designed to help enterprise merchants improve payments across channels and markets, potentially increasing Mastercard’s business-to-business and value-added-services opportunities. Fiserv and Mastercard Deepen Global Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases reinforce bullish sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its Mastercard price target to $695 from $650 and maintained an “overweight” rating. Other reports also cited price-target increases to $680 and $685, suggesting analysts see additional upside following Mastercard’s strong earnings performance. Mastercard price target raised
• Positive Sentiment: Premium-card refresh supports payment volume and engagement: Mastercard, Citi and American Airlines introduced enhanced benefits for the Citi/AAdvantage Executive World Legend Mastercard, including expanded lounge access, rewards and travel-related perks. The initiative targets frequent premium travelers and could support spending activity on Mastercard’s network. Mastercard launches richer Citi AAdvantage Executive World Legend Card
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard announced six senior appointments across Asia Pacific and is reorganizing regional leadership. The moves may improve execution but have no immediate financial impact. Mastercard makes senior appointments across Asia Pacific
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Michael Miebach sold a combined 33,256 shares for approximately $19.1 million, reducing his direct holdings by roughly 26%. Because both sales occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, they may reflect scheduled diversification rather than a negative view of Mastercard’s outlook, limiting the bearish signal. Mastercard CEO SEC Form 4 filing

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total value of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total transaction of $9,439,383.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 115,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,806,033.28. The trade was a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,261 shares of company stock valued at $22,773,599. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $632.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $659.00.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $571.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $504.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $517.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $514.63. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for 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%.Mastercard’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

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.