Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab

PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 164,539 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 28,209 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 0.7% of PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $84,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,897,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,612,087,000 after buying an additional 466,514 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,444,231,000 after acquiring an additional 72,461,743 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Mastercard by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,807,283,000 after acquiring an additional 997,536 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,686,605 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,773,153,000 after acquiring an additional 349,369 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,964,658 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,256,368,000 after acquiring an additional 759,584 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mastercard News Roundup

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Five research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $661.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total value of $8,838,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,693 shares in the company, valued at $53,873,475. The trade was a 14.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.87, for a total transaction of $1,715,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,398,632.92. The trade was a 6.83% 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. Insiders have sold 62,913 shares of company stock valued at $35,769,036 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.0%

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

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 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.