Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Purchased by Groupe la Francaise

Key Points

• Groupe la Française increased its Mastercard position by 29.4% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 129,643 shares valued at approximately $66.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 97.28% of the company.
• Mastercard reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $5.04 and revenue of $9.28 billion, up 14.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Buy” consensus and an average price target of $666.64.
• Mastercard shares opened at $579.43, near their 52-week high, while the company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share. Several executives sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, including the CEO and CFO.

Groupe la Francaise raised its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 29.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 129,643 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 29,452 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Mastercard were worth $66,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MA. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd raised its stake in Mastercard by 7.3% during the first quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 139,844 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $70,089,000 after buying an additional 9,504 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 65,414 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $37,344,000 after acquiring an additional 3,768 shares in the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,328,000. Charles Lim Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,699,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 28,205 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $14,093,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on MA shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $632.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $597.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $666.64.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.0%

Mastercard stock opened at $579.43 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $558.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $521.49. The firm has a market capitalization 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $601.62.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. Mastercard's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

Key Stories 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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,781,695.49. The trade was a 12.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total value of $9,439,383.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,806,033.28. The trade was 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 74,623 shares of company stock valued at $42,544,606. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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