HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 42,656 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 491,676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 42,656 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Mastercard worth $252,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Mastercard by 820.0% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA acquired a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial grew its stake in Mastercard by 113.8% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard’s Strive India program has helped small businesses access more than $150 million in credit. The initiative strengthens Mastercard’s role in financial inclusion and could expand future payment volumes in a large growth market. Mastercard Strive India Aids Small Firms With Over $150 Million in Credit
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched its first Start Path cohort focused on agentic commerce, with 22 startups developing technology that enables AI agents to initiate and complete transactions. The effort positions Mastercard to capture a potential new payments channel as autonomous purchasing develops. Mastercard Start Path Launches Inaugural Agentic Commerce Cohort
• Positive Sentiment: Citi Hong Kong plans to introduce a virtual credit card with a dynamic card validation code in partnership with Mastercard. The product could improve digital-payment security and reinforce Mastercard’s technology value proposition. Citi Hong Kong Dynamic CVC Virtual Credit Card Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard expanded leadership for digital acceptance in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and launched travel deals with Klook. Both developments may support merchant adoption and engagement, but are unlikely to materially change near-term earnings. Mastercard Elevates Vanshi Kotru Mastercard and Klook Launch Travel Deals
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares valued at approximately $1.9 million, reducing his direct holdings by 8.18%. Because the transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, it is a limited bearish signal, but it can still weigh on sentiment—particularly with Mastercard trading near a 52-week high and at a premium earnings multiple. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,781,695.49. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total transaction of $8,838,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,873,475. This represents a 14.09% 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 a total of 74,623 shares of company stock worth $42,544,606 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $642.00 to $696.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $632.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $666.64.

Mastercard Price Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $579.43 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $507.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $558.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $521.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

Mastercard 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.