Hilltop Holdings Inc. Reduces Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Hilltop Holdings sharply cut its Mastercard stake by 72.9% in the first quarter, selling 16,668 shares and ending with 6,184 shares worth about $3.09 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly upbeat on Mastercard, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $653.65; several analysts recently trimmed targets but largely kept bullish ratings.
• Mastercard continues to show strong operating results, reporting Q1 EPS of $4.60 and revenue of $8.40 billion, both above expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 72.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,184 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 16,668 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its position in Mastercard by 113.8% during the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Dbs Bank raised Mastercard to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $653.65.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded its virtual card platform with new security controls, single-API access, and broader embedded payments capabilities, which could support more B2B transaction volume and deepen relationships with banks and businesses. Mastercard Expands Virtual Card Platform with New Security Controls, Embedded Payments Network and Single API Access
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is also pushing into the creator economy with a new business debit card partnership, suggesting continued expansion into newer customer segments and additional payment use cases. Mastercard puts its cards on creators with a new business debit card
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street still sees room for earnings growth ahead of Mastercard’s upcoming report, and the stock continues to be viewed as a high-margin “payments-tech” compounder. MasterCard (MA) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist trimmed its price target to $554 from $561 but kept a Buy rating, which signals slightly less upside than before without changing the overall bullish stance. Read More
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Mastercard’s positioning in agentic AI, virtual cards, and the creator economy, but these are largely strategic updates rather than immediate financial catalysts. Sunrate and Mastercard Release White Paper on Agentic AI and the Future of B2B Global Payments
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market concern around capex spending and the tech sell-off could create some near-term pressure on valuation multiples, even though Mastercard is not a direct AI infrastructure spender. Capex fears trigger biggest Tech sell-off since 'Liberation Day'

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total transaction of $1,047,276.21. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This represents 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. Insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $539.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $476.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $508.29 and a 200 day moving average of $515.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.Mastercard's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.73 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.14%.

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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