California State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 636,179,801 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• CalSTRS dramatically increased its Mastercard stake by 636.2 million shares, a reported 49,444.6% rise, making Mastercard roughly 0.9% of its portfolio. The filing’s reported ownership figures appear unusually large.
• Mastercard beat quarterly expectations: earnings reached $5.04 per share versus the $4.77 consensus, while revenue rose 14.1% year over year to $9.28 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with an average “Buy” rating and a $666.64 price target versus the reported $579.43 share price. Insiders, including the CEO, sold shares through pre-arranged trading plans, while institutional investors collectively own 97.28% of the stock.

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 49,444.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 637,466,453 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 636,179,801 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 0.9% of California State Teachers Retirement System's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 72.77% of Mastercard worth $327,402,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tanager Wealth Management LLP raised its stake in Mastercard by 6.6% in the second quarter. Tanager Wealth Management LLP now owns 747 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 73.4% in the 2nd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 495 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,212 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,906,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kintra Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kintra Wealth LLC now owns 4,750 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,693,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.0%

MA opened at $579.43 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $507.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.74. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.62. The business's 50-day moving average price is $558.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $521.49. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued 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 was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total value of $2,534,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,625,225. This trade represents a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total value of $9,439,383.04. Following the transaction, 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. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 74,623 shares of company stock worth $42,544,606 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MA. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $632.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $597.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Mastercard from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $666.64.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

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

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.

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