Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Has $91.67 Million Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Key Points

• Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. cut its Mastercard stake by 19.4% in the first quarter, selling 44,050 shares and ending with 183,474 shares worth about $91.7 million.
• Mastercard continues to attract strong institutional and analyst support, with hedge funds owning 97.28% of the stock and analysts maintaining an average Buy rating with a $653.78 price target.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 results, including EPS of $4.60 and revenue of $8.40 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share.

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 19.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 183,474 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 44,050 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for approximately 3.3% of Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Mastercard were worth $91,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MA. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 72,461,743 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its position in Mastercard by 861.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,648,748 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Mastercard by 2.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at $497,311,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total value of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard shares are being supported by broader strength in financial stocks, which rose late in the session and helped lift sentiment across the sector. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise Late Afternoon
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to meaningful upside in Mastercard, with Buy ratings and favorable MarketRank/price-target sentiment reinforcing a constructive outlook for the stock. Analysts See Major Upside for These 5 Stocks (MA)
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also gained attention after adding NordVPN to its lifestyle perks, a small but positive consumer-facing enhancement that could support cardholder engagement. NordVPN is now part of Mastercard’s lifestyle perks — find out if you are eligible
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Mastercard is reviewing options for its U.K. payments subsidiary Vocalink suggests portfolio optimization, but the financial impact is still unclear because talks are reportedly early and no deal has been announced. Mastercard examines sale of UK payments subsidiary Vocalink
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional reports that Mastercard may sell a majority stake in Vocalink, and commentary about overseas regulators and “payment protectionism,” could matter strategically, but they do not yet indicate a completed transaction or immediate earnings impact. Mastercard in early talks to sell majority stake in Vocalink– report
• Negative Sentiment: The Vocalink headlines also highlight regulatory pressure in the U.K. and concerns about foreign ownership of critical payments infrastructure, which could create uncertainty or limit Mastercard’s strategic flexibility. Mastercard's Vocalink rumors and the rise of payment protectionism

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $631.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Mastercard from $671.00 to $664.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $653.78.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA opened at $537.02 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $500.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $516.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $474.50 billion, a PE ratio of 31.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.73. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.73 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.14%.

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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