Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Holdings Decreased by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors reduced its Mastercard stake by 30.5% in the first quarter, selling 23,927 shares and retaining 54,551 shares worth approximately $27.3 million. Institutional investors still own 97.28% of the company.
• Mastercard exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.04 in EPS and $9.28 billion in revenue, with revenue up 14.1% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, yielding about 0.6%.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with an average “Buy” rating and a $659 price target, while Mastercard’s planned $1.8 billion BVNK acquisition and expanded payment partnerships support its digital-assets and payment-growth strategy.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 30.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,551 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 23,927 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $27,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,897,854 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $45,612,087,000 after buying an additional 466,514 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew 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 worth $41,444,231,000 after acquiring an additional 72,461,743 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $20,807,283,000 after acquiring an additional 997,536 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,686,605 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $11,773,153,000 after acquiring an additional 349,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,964,658 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $10,256,368,000 after acquiring an additional 759,584 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock opened at $571.38 on Tuesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $504.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.71. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $516.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $514.45.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.15 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.72 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is 19.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction 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. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total value of $2,534,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BVNK acquisition completed: Mastercard finalized its approximately $1.8 billion purchase of crypto infrastructure provider BVNK. The deal is intended to help banks and businesses move value between fiat currencies and digital assets and strengthen Mastercard’s stablecoin capabilities. Mastercard completes acquisition of BVNK to advance global stablecoin capabilities
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets raised: Cantor Fitzgerald lifted its Mastercard price target to $695 from $650 and maintained an “overweight” rating. Other analysts raised targets to $680 and $685, while Mastercard’s overall analyst consensus remains “Buy.” Mastercard price target raised to $680
• Positive Sentiment: Travel and payment partnerships expanded: Mastercard announced new or expanded collaborations with American Airlines and Citi, Emburse, GCash, Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Authority and Bahrain-based INFINIOS. These initiatives could increase card usage, travel-related payments and stablecoin settlement opportunities. American Airlines, Citi and Mastercard introduce new benefits
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic execution remains the focus: Mastercard made six senior appointments across Asia Pacific and continues positioning its network for digital-payment growth. These moves are supportive strategically but are unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profit-taking may limit gains: Despite strong recent earnings growth and favorable analyst commentary, Mastercard trades near its annual high at a premium earnings multiple. Investors may be taking profits or waiting for clearer evidence that the BVNK acquisition and stablecoin initiatives will generate meaningful revenue.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Clear Str upgraded Mastercard to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $659.00.

Mastercard 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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