Strs Ohio Reduces Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Strs Ohio lowered its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 462,274 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 10,627 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.9% of Strs Ohio’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Strs Ohio owned 0.05% of Mastercard worth $230,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Mastercard by 0.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 466,514 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 53,535.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 72,461,743 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 997,536 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 349,369 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% in 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 buying an additional 759,584 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 3.2%

Mastercard stock opened at $539.00 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $476.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $497.34 and a 200 day moving average of $518.82. 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 (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.73 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 20.14%.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded its global payments strategy through a new partnership with VEON to improve accessible financial services across Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, which could support long-term transaction growth and network usage. VEON and Mastercard Join Forces to Accelerate Accessibility of Financial Services
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also announced cybersecurity-related initiatives in Africa, reinforcing its brand with governments and potentially strengthening trust in its payment infrastructure over time. Mastercard partners govts to protect Africa’s cyberspace
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive, with coverage noting Mastercard’s strong history of beating earnings estimates and suggesting it may post another upside surprise next quarter. Will MasterCard (MA) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler upgraded Mastercard to strong-buy, a vote of confidence that can help support the valuation. Mastercard upgraded by Piper Sandler
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Raj Seshadri sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sales are worth noting, but they do not necessarily signal negative fundamentals. SEC filing for insider sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader commentary on stablecoins and Visa’s Open USD push highlights increasing competition and change in payments, but the articles frame Mastercard as well-positioned rather than under immediate pressure. Visa, Mastercard and 140 firms launch Open USD

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Bank of America began coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 target price on Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.