Ancora Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors increased its Mastercard stake by 7.6% in the second quarter, purchasing 3,547 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 50,276 shares valued at approximately $25.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $666.64. Mastercard also exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $5.04 in EPS and $9.28 billion in revenue, up 14.1% year over year.
• Mastercard shares opened at $589.32, near their 52-week high, while insiders sold more than $40.6 million worth of stock over the past three months. The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, representing a 0.6% yield.

Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,276 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,547 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $25,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $597.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $642.00 to $696.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $666.64.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total transaction of $9,439,383.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 115,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,806,033.28. This represents a 12.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 7,444 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total value of $4,296,155.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,613,851.08. The trade was a 15.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 71,357 shares of company stock worth $40,637,262. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Down 1.0%

Mastercard stock opened at $589.32 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $516.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.71. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.62. The stock's fifty day moving average is $551.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $519.86.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The business's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.15 EPS. Analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.14%.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI-powered payments: Mastercard joined Visa, Fiserv and other companies in forming the Agentic Payments Alliance, which aims to establish standards for payments initiated by artificial-intelligence agents. Common rules could help Mastercard capture emerging transaction volume while reducing fragmentation and security concerns. Visa, Mastercard, and Fiserv Just Joined a Group Writing the Rules for AI Agent Payments
• Positive Sentiment: International expansion: Visa and Mastercard are working to simplify international money transfers, while Mastercard has reportedly processed the first global card payments in Syria. Broader cross-border payment capabilities and entry into a newly reopened market could support long-term transaction growth, although the immediate financial contribution is likely modest. Visa and Mastercard Want to Simplify International Money Transfers Visa, Mastercard process first global payments in Syria
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor support: Erste Group Bank raised its fiscal 2026 EPS forecast for Mastercard. Separately, one market commentary described MA as being near the lower end of its buy zone, suggesting bullish investors may consider a bull call spread. These reports reinforce the view that analysts remain constructive. Mastercard FY2026 EPS Forecast Boosted by Erste Group Bank Investors Can Tap This Spread On Mastercard; Stock In Buy Zone
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard Lighthouse UAE selected six AI startups, potentially expanding the company’s pipeline of artificial-intelligence payment and commerce partnerships. Mastercard Lighthouse UAE Picks Six AI Startups
• Neutral Sentiment: A comparison with Evertec focuses on which financial-transaction-services stock offers better value. The coverage does not signal a fundamental change at Mastercard, but it highlights that MA’s roughly 32 price-to-earnings ratio leaves valuation important for investors. EVTC vs. MA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard has lagged the S&P 500 over the past year, raising concerns about relative performance despite bullish analyst expectations. With the stock near its 52-week high, investors may also demand continued earnings growth to justify its premium valuation. Is Mastercard Incorporated Stock Underperforming the S&P 500?

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.

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