State of Michigan Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 237,681 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $122,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MA. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 53,535.0% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,444,231,000 after purchasing an additional 72,461,743 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its stake in Mastercard by 861.6% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,324,743,000 after buying an additional 3,648,748 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Mastercard by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,807,283,000 after buying an additional 997,536 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $497,311,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,625,225. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,357 shares of company stock valued at $40,637,262. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $632.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $701.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $661.93.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $580.26 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $601.77. The firm has a market cap of $508.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.71. 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 50-day simple moving average of $538.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $517.80.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.14%.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is positioning its network for “agentic payments,” in which artificial-intelligence agents make purchases for consumers. Its participation in the Agentic Payments Alliance and CEO Michael Miebach’s comments suggest the company is working to establish standards and capture transaction volume from this emerging market. How Mastercard CEO is preparing for a world where AI agents do the shopping
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s latest quarterly results showed earnings per share of $5.04 and revenue of $9.28 billion, exceeding analyst estimates. Revenue increased 14.1% year over year, reinforcing the company’s growth and profitability profile.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $661.93. However, valuation assessments are mixed: some intrinsic-value models indicate upside, while earnings-based measures suggest MA trades at a premium. Can Mastercard stay cheap as AI payments expand?
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard appointed Yasemin Bedir as president of its Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region. The change could support regional expansion, but no immediate financial impact was announced. Mastercard appoints Yasemin Bedir as EEMEA president
• Negative Sentiment: A reported UK legal ruling could make millions of people eligible for approximately £70 in compensation related to Mastercard card-fee claims. The potential financial liability and scope of the case remain unclear, but the development adds litigation risk. Mastercard ruling as millions could get compensation
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Business Officer Sachin J. Mehra sold 8,444 shares for roughly $4.87 million across August 19–20. The trades were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing their significance as a discretionary bearish signal, although they may weigh modestly on sentiment. Mastercard insider trading filing

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.