Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Increases Stock Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 90.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 864,125 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 410,243 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 0.7% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.10% of Mastercard worth $431,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 820.0% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 113.8% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $539.48 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $508.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $515.02. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The company has a market capitalization of $476.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The firm’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.73 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 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. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $653.65.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded its virtual card platform with new security controls, single-API access, and broader embedded payments capabilities, which could support more B2B transaction volume and deepen relationships with banks and businesses. Mastercard Expands Virtual Card Platform with New Security Controls, Embedded Payments Network and Single API Access
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is also pushing into the creator economy with a new business debit card partnership, suggesting continued expansion into newer customer segments and additional payment use cases. Mastercard puts its cards on creators with a new business debit card
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street still sees room for earnings growth ahead of Mastercard’s upcoming report, and the stock continues to be viewed as a high-margin “payments-tech” compounder. MasterCard (MA) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist trimmed its price target to $554 from $561 but kept a Buy rating, which signals slightly less upside than before without changing the overall bullish stance. Read More
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Mastercard’s positioning in agentic AI, virtual cards, and the creator economy, but these are largely strategic updates rather than immediate financial catalysts. Sunrate and Mastercard Release White Paper on Agentic AI and the Future of B2B Global Payments
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market concern around capex spending and the tech sell-off could create some near-term pressure on valuation multiples, even though Mastercard is not a direct AI infrastructure spender. Capex fears trigger biggest Tech sell-off since ‘Liberation Day’

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total transaction of $1,047,276.21. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.