Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel reduced its Mastercard stake by 2.5% in the third quarter, selling 3,465 shares and retaining 137,076 shares valued at approximately $73.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 97.28% of the company.
• Mastercard reported quarterly EPS of $5.04 and revenue of $9.28 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue increased 14.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share.
• The stock trades near its 12-month high at roughly 34 times earnings; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $682.66. New initiatives involving stablecoins, payment security and AI-based transaction monitoring could support future growth.

Carnegie Investment Counsel cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,076 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,465 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises about 1.4% of Carnegie Investment Counsel's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Mastercard were worth $73,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sentinel Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 7.6% during the third quarter. Sentinel Advisory Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. lifted its position in Mastercard by 7.9% during the third quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. now owns 1,284 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Randall & Associates Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 3rd quarter valued at about $485,000. Rare Wolf Capital LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rare Wolf Capital LLC now owns 758 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miller Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% during the third quarter. Miller Financial Services LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard introduced its Global Money Platform, which integrates stablecoins with traditional currencies to support cross-border payments. The initiative could expand transaction volumes and create new opportunities among banks, businesses and fintech customers. Mastercard expands stablecoin reach with new money platform
• Positive Sentiment: The company launched Stablecoin Security, an API that combines payment and blockchain intelligence to screen for fraud, scams and sanctions exposure before funds move on-chain. The tool may reduce institutional concerns about stablecoins while creating additional security and risk-management revenue opportunities. Mastercard introduces risk intelligence to enable more secure stablecoin payments
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also unveiled an AI-powered Agent Detection Score to identify transactions initiated by software rather than humans. The product positions the network to manage fraud and trust risks as autonomous shopping agents become more widespread. Mastercard unveiled an AI Agent Detection Score
• Positive Sentiment: New and expanded partnerships, including initiatives with Moovn, BankIslami, Extend and Finsei, broaden Mastercard’s digital-payment, business-software and regional payment reach. These efforts could support long-term payment volume growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction may weigh modestly on sentiment, but its scheduled nature limits its usefulness as a signal about Mastercard’s outlook. Mastercard CFO insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: With MA near a record level and valued at roughly 34 times earnings, expectations remain elevated. The stock may require continued strong revenue growth and earnings beats to sustain further gains.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $701.00 price target (up from $674.00) on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $631.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on 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 target price on shares of Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty 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 "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $682.66.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $620.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $543.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.14, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $578.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $537.01. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $624.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 19.14%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 31,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,781,695.49. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total value of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,613,851.08. This trade represents a 15.39% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 72,676 shares of company stock worth $41,966,586 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated NYSE: MA is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payments and provides technology that supports transactions conducted through credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment products.

In addition to operating its payments network, Mastercard offers services in areas such as payment security, fraud prevention, authentication, cybersecurity, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital identity and open banking.

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