Calamos Advisors LLC Purchases 7,771 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Calamos Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 248,453 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,771 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $124,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position 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 stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. First Pacific Financial grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $8,625,225. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 sale, the insider owned 3,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $537.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $474.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.08, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $464.52 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $500.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $516.83.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.73 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard shares are being supported by broader strength in financial stocks, which rose late in the session and helped lift sentiment across the sector. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise Late Afternoon
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to meaningful upside in Mastercard, with Buy ratings and favorable MarketRank/price-target sentiment reinforcing a constructive outlook for the stock. Analysts See Major Upside for These 5 Stocks (MA)
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also gained attention after adding NordVPN to its lifestyle perks, a small but positive consumer-facing enhancement that could support cardholder engagement. NordVPN is now part of Mastercard’s lifestyle perks — find out if you are eligible
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Mastercard is reviewing options for its U.K. payments subsidiary Vocalink suggests portfolio optimization, but the financial impact is still unclear because talks are reportedly early and no deal has been announced. Mastercard examines sale of UK payments subsidiary Vocalink
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional reports that Mastercard may sell a majority stake in Vocalink, and commentary about overseas regulators and “payment protectionism,” could matter strategically, but they do not yet indicate a completed transaction or immediate earnings impact. Mastercard in early talks to sell majority stake in Vocalink– report
• Negative Sentiment: The Vocalink headlines also highlight regulatory pressure in the U.K. and concerns about foreign ownership of critical payments infrastructure, which could create uncertainty or limit Mastercard’s strategic flexibility. Mastercard's Vocalink rumors and the rise of payment protectionism

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $631.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $653.78.

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.

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