Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC Cuts Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC reduced its Mastercard position by 9.6% in the second quarter, selling 1,858 shares and retaining 17,574 shares valued at approximately $9.0 million.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $666.64; five analysts rate Mastercard a Strong Buy and 25 rate it a Buy.
• Mastercard exceeded quarterly expectations with $5.04 in EPS and $9.28 billion in revenue, while shares trade near their 12-month high at roughly 31 times earnings. Insiders have also sold $42.5 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,574 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,858 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 49,444.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 637,466,453 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $327,402,770,000 after acquiring an additional 636,179,801 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $41,444,231,000 after purchasing an additional 72,461,743 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 861.6% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $2,324,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fundsmith LLP purchased a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $639,458,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MA shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Mastercard from $642.00 to $696.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Mastercard from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Clear Str upgraded Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $666.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 115,921 shares in the company, valued at $65,806,033.28. This trade represents a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 74,623 shares of company stock worth $42,544,606. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI commerce expansion: Mastercard introduced tools that help merchants connect to AI shopping agents and build “agentic commerce” experiences. The initiatives could support future payment volume and reinforce Mastercard’s role in online transactions as autonomous purchasing develops. Mastercard gives merchants a simpler way to build, connect and scale AI-powered shopping experiences
• Positive Sentiment: Digital-wallet growth opportunity: Mastercard launched Wallet Pay to connect regional wallets with its global network across contactless, QR-code and online payments. With digital-wallet users projected to exceed 6 billion by 2030, the service could create additional cross-border transaction growth. Mastercard Launches Wallet Pay to Scale Digital Wallets Worldwide
• Positive Sentiment: Trust framework for AI payments: Mastercard, Visa and Ant International are developing “Know Your Agent” standards to identify and verify AI agents acting for consumers. Shared identity and fraud-prevention standards could make autonomous payments safer and more scalable across merchants. Payment firms Visa, Mastercard and Ant International team up on AI agent trust framework
• Positive Sentiment: New payment channels: Mastercard is partnering with Busha to enable digital-asset transfers in Nigeria and with City Union Bank in India on a single credential for multiple payment accounts. These initiatives broaden Mastercard’s reach in digital assets and account-linked payments. Mastercard and Busha bring trusted digital asset transfers to Nigeria
• Neutral Sentiment: Near-term catalyst remains limited: The announcements are primarily strategic and do not change current earnings estimates. Mastercard’s shares remain near their 12-month high and trade at roughly 31 times earnings, leaving the stock sensitive to profit-taking or broader market weakness.
• Negative Sentiment: Cannabis payments remain restricted: A Government Accountability Office review indicated that Visa and Mastercard are unlikely to change their cannabis-payment policies even if marijuana is moved to Schedule III, limiting a potential new transaction market. Visa and Mastercard Likely Won’t Change Cannabis-Payment Policies Under Schedule III

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $565.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $495.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.09, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $562.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $522.82. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.62.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated NYSE: MA is a global technology company that operates a payments network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payment transactions, including credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, by providing the infrastructure used to authorize, clear and settle transactions.

Mastercard's products and services include its Mastercard-branded payment cards, digital payment tools, contactless payment technology and payment solutions for businesses and governments.

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