Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $2.93 Million Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,655 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,396 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Mastercard by 820.0% in the fourth 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 purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new stake in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Robinswood Financial LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the first quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of Mastercard 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 7,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total value of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. The trade was a 15.39% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,357 shares of company stock valued at $40,637,262. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

MA stock opened at $574.33 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $536.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $517.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $601.77. The stock has a market cap of $503.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.72.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The business’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. Analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is participating in the Agentic Payments Alliance with Rain, Visa and other industry players. The group aims to establish standards for AI agents that can conduct purchases, potentially creating new transaction volumes and strengthening Mastercard’s role in emerging digital payments. Rain forms agentic payments alliance with Visa, Mastercard and other players
• Positive Sentiment: Chief Executive Officer Michael Miebach discussed how Mastercard is preparing for a future in which AI agents shop on behalf of consumers. The strategy could help the company capture payments from a rapidly developing technology trend. How Mastercard CEO is preparing for a world where AI agents do the shopping
• Positive Sentiment: A recent investor analysis highlighted Mastercard’s stable growth outlook, supported by expanding payment volume, cross-border transactions and strong profitability. Stable Growth Trajectory Positions Mastercard for Strong Returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard appointed Yasemin Bedir as president of its Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region. The leadership change could support regional expansion, but its near-term financial impact is unclear. Mastercard appoints Yasemin Bedir as EEMEA president
• Negative Sentiment: Insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 8,444 shares for approximately $4.87 million across August 19–20. Although the sales reduced his holdings, the use of a pre-arranged trading plan makes them a weaker bearish signal than discretionary selling. Mastercard insider trading filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MA shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Clear Str upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $661.93.

About Mastercard

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.