Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Bought by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 229,667 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,869 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 0.6% of Czech National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $117,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,897,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,612,087,000 after acquiring an additional 466,514 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position 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 valued at $20,807,283,000 after acquiring an additional 997,536 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mastercard by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,686,605 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,773,153,000 after purchasing an additional 349,369 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Mastercard by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,964,658 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,256,368,000 after purchasing an additional 759,584 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,781,695.49. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.87, for a total transaction of $1,715,610.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 40,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,398,632.92. This represents a 6.83% decrease in their position. 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 quarter, insiders sold 62,913 shares of company stock worth $35,769,036. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $661.93.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of MA opened at $576.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $509.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.69, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $521.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $515.08. 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.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The firm 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 was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.15 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.78 EPS for the current fiscal 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 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 of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is 19.14%.

Mastercard News Summary

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

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.