Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Compound Planning Inc.

Compound Planning Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,481 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 2,139 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,897,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,612,087,000 after acquiring an additional 466,514 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in Mastercard by 53,535.0% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,444,231,000 after acquiring an additional 72,461,743 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,686,605 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,773,153,000 after purchasing an additional 349,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Mastercard by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,964,658 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $10,256,368,000 after buying an additional 759,584 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, 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 value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,880. The trade was a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% 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 a total of 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen decreased their target price 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $640.00 price objective for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mastercard has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.92.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $530.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $468.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $507.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $514.85. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued 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 net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.73 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm 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 0.7%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.14%.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced new enhancements to its virtual card platform, including stronger security controls, embedded payments capabilities, and single-API access. This supports growth in B2B payments and could improve adoption of Mastercard’s commercial payment tools. Mastercard Expands Virtual Card Platform with New Security Controls, Embedded Payments Network and Single API Access
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is being highlighted by commentators like Jim Cramer as a “tech company in bank clothing,” reinforcing the market’s view of MA as a high-margin payments compounder with durable growth characteristics. Mastercard (NYSE:MA): Jim Cramer’s “Tech Company in Bank Clothing”
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expectations are building for Mastercard’s upcoming earnings report, with analysts looking for another earnings beat and continued profit growth. That can support the stock if results and guidance confirm strong consumer spending and transaction volume trends. MasterCard (MA) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard is also expanding into the creator economy through a new debit card partnership, which adds another growth avenue but is not yet large enough to move fundamentals on its own. Mastercard Sees the Next Payments Customer in the Creator Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles and market commentary have focused on Mastercard’s valuation, long-term moat, and competitive positioning versus peers like Affirm. These pieces are more about sentiment than immediate catalysts, though they contribute to the mixed tone around the stock. Mastercard vs. Affirm: Which Fintech Stock Has More Room to Run?
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage suggests Mastercard may be less attractive than faster-growing fintech names such as Affirm on a valuation and upside basis, which could temper investor enthusiasm. Mastercard vs. Affirm: Which Fintech Stock Has More Room to Run?
• Negative Sentiment: There is also ongoing speculation about a possible sale of a majority stake in Mastercard’s UK payments subsidiary Vocalink, which adds uncertainty around a key infrastructure asset. Is Mastercard (MA) Cheap Or Fully Valued On Vocalink Sale Talk?

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.