Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by NS Partners Ltd

NS Partners Ltd decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 92,360 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 3,151 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises approximately 2.0% of NS Partners Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. NS Partners Ltd's holdings in Mastercard were worth $47,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 861.6% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,324,743,000 after buying an additional 3,648,748 shares during the last quarter. Fundsmith LLP acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $639,458,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 147.2% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 1,682,183 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $863,969,000 after buying an additional 1,001,671 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Mastercard from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $631.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $666.64.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $589.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $551.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $519.86. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $601.62. The firm has a market cap of $516.25 billion, a PE ratio of 32.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.14%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,781,695.49. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% 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 sold 71,357 shares of company stock valued at $40,637,262 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI-powered payments: Mastercard joined Visa, Fiserv and other companies in forming the Agentic Payments Alliance, which aims to establish standards for payments initiated by artificial-intelligence agents. Common rules could help Mastercard capture emerging transaction volume while reducing fragmentation and security concerns. Visa, Mastercard, and Fiserv Just Joined a Group Writing the Rules for AI Agent Payments
• Positive Sentiment: International expansion: Visa and Mastercard are working to simplify international money transfers, while Mastercard has reportedly processed the first global card payments in Syria. Broader cross-border payment capabilities and entry into a newly reopened market could support long-term transaction growth, although the immediate financial contribution is likely modest. Visa and Mastercard Want to Simplify International Money Transfers Visa, Mastercard process first global payments in Syria
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor support: Erste Group Bank raised its fiscal 2026 EPS forecast for Mastercard. Separately, one market commentary described MA as being near the lower end of its buy zone, suggesting bullish investors may consider a bull call spread. These reports reinforce the view that analysts remain constructive. Mastercard FY2026 EPS Forecast Boosted by Erste Group Bank Investors Can Tap This Spread On Mastercard; Stock In Buy Zone
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard Lighthouse UAE selected six AI startups, potentially expanding the company’s pipeline of artificial-intelligence payment and commerce partnerships. Mastercard Lighthouse UAE Picks Six AI Startups
• Neutral Sentiment: A comparison with Evertec focuses on which financial-transaction-services stock offers better value. The coverage does not signal a fundamental change at Mastercard, but it highlights that MA’s roughly 32 price-to-earnings ratio leaves valuation important for investors. EVTC vs. MA: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard has lagged the S&P 500 over the past year, raising concerns about relative performance despite bullish analyst expectations. With the stock near its 52-week high, investors may also demand continued earnings growth to justify its premium valuation. Is Mastercard Incorporated Stock Underperforming the S&P 500?

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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