Marietta Investment Partners LLC Sells 2,263 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Marietta Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,025 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,263 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 2.1% of Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $10,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Columbia Bank raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 3.9% in the first quarter. Columbia Bank now owns 1,068 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 90.2% during the first quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors now owns 4,642 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.7% during the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 91,580 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,759,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the first quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,551 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 47.1% in the first quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,296 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1%

MA opened at $539.00 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $497.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $518.61. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The company has a market cap of $476.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $8,625,225. This trade represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Dbs Bank raised Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $653.81.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced new partnerships to expand digital and inclusive financial services, including a collaboration with VEON across Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. That supports the company’s international growth strategy and could increase future network usage and transaction volume. VEON and Mastercard Join Forces to Accelerate Accessibility of Financial Services
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also said integrated payment systems could add meaningful tourism revenue, reinforcing the company’s role as a beneficiary of cross-border spending and digital payments adoption. Integrated payment systems could add €300 in annual tourism revenue – MasterCard
• Positive Sentiment: ZEN.COM launched Mastercard Click to Pay, reflecting rising demand for simpler online checkout experiences and another sign that Mastercard’s payment rails remain widely adopted by merchants and consumers. ZEN.COM Launches Mastercard Click to Pay as Consumer Demand for Simpler Online Payments Grows
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Mastercard’s strong earnings track record and suggested it could beat estimates again next quarter, which can support investor confidence ahead of the next report. Will MasterCard (MA) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat’s week-in-review coverage framed Mastercard as a steady, high-quality payments name, but it did not introduce any new company-specific catalyst beyond broader investor interest in defensive growth stocks. MarketBeat Week in Review – 06/29 – 07/03
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary on stablecoins and payments competition suggests the industry is evolving, but the articles generally portray Mastercard as well-positioned rather than under direct pressure. Is Mastercard (MA) Trading At A Premium Despite Stablecoin Moves?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Raj Seshadri sold shares on two separate days under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan. While not necessarily a bearish signal on fundamentals, insider sales can still weigh on sentiment around the stock. SEC filing for insider sale

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.