Mastercard Incorporated $MA is Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s 10th Largest Position

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP lowered its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 232,385 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 18,718 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 1.7% of Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $116,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $578.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $511.03 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $513.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $514.22.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.15 EPS. Equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.14%.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations: Mastercard reported adjusted EPS of $5.04 versus the $4.77 consensus and revenue of $9.28 billion versus $9.08 billion expected. Revenue rose 14.1% year over year, while profit benefited from higher payment volumes, cross-border transactions, switched transactions and value-added services. Mastercard profit jumps as stable spending drives transaction volumes
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised confidence in growth: Mastercard expects third-quarter net revenue growth at the high end of its low-double-digit range. The anticipated closing of its BVNK acquisition could also strengthen its stablecoin settlement and digital-asset infrastructure. Mastercard expects Q3 2026 revenue growth near the high end of guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term growth opportunities remain attractive: Executives said Mastercard is developing tools for “agentic commerce,” allowing AI shopping agents to authenticate transactions and make payments. Its fraud-detection capabilities and new scam-monitoring program may help the company remain relevant as commerce evolves. How Mastercard plans to compete in agentic commerce
• Positive Sentiment: Industry conditions were supportive: Financial stocks broadly advanced, while stable employment, wage growth, inflation-related transaction values and strong cross-border activity supported spending across Mastercard’s network.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst estimate revisions were mixed but modest: some forecasts increased, including FY2027 EPS to $22.27, while others made small reductions to later-quarter or FY2026 estimates. Mastercard’s valuation remains elevated at roughly 33 times earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Convenience-store groups are challenging Mastercard fines related to vape sales, creating a potential regulatory and merchant-relations issue. Separately, ongoing scrutiny of card “swipe fees” could pose longer-term pressure on network economics. Mastercard responds to challenge of fines for vape sales

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

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 shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $701.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen cut their price target on Mastercard from $671.00 to $664.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $652.19.

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.