Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by Scholtz & Company LLC

Scholtz & Company LLC lessened its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,191 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,636 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 5.7% of Scholtz & Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Scholtz & Company LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.3% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,727,014 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $886,994,000 after buying an additional 5,551 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in Mastercard by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 171,347 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $88,004,000 after buying an additional 26,324 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 33.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,399 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. C WorldWide Group Holding A S acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,512,000. Finally, Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $204,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total transaction of $9,439,383.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 115,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,806,033.28. This trade represents a 12.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 74,623 shares of company stock worth $42,544,606. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched AI-commerce tools designed to help merchants and shopping agents discover products, personalize offers and complete transactions. The initiative positions Mastercard to participate in a potential shift toward agent-led online shopping and could support future payment volume and value-added-services growth. Mastercard Launches New AI Commerce Tools for Merchants and Shopping Agents
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard executives highlighted AI, data and brand-building as key tools for improving marketing effectiveness and customer engagement. This supports the company’s strategy of expanding beyond payment processing into higher-margin data and technology services. The Innovation Playbook
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard joined a World Bank initiative to expand digital payments in emerging markets. Greater acceptance and financial inclusion could create additional card issuance, transaction and cross-border payment opportunities over time. World Bank Pushes to Expand Emerging Market Digital Payments
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding its ecosystem in the Middle East through Jaywan acceptance on Mastercard Gateway and a partnership with Banque du Liban to increase digital-payment acceptance among Lebanese small businesses and women entrepreneurs. These efforts support international volume growth and merchant penetration. noon payments enables Jaywan acceptance through Mastercard Gateway Mastercard and Banque du Liban collaboration
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard introduced its World Select premium card program in India for affluent consumers. The program could raise spending per cardholder and deepen relationships with premium issuers in a rapidly expanding payments market. Mastercard launches World Select in India
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard forecasts that one in ten consumers could use AI agents for online shopping within four years. The opportunity is significant, but adoption, transaction economics and how AI agents monetize payments remain uncertain. Mastercard AI-agent shopping forecast
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. Bank’s stablecoin pilot and moves by Marqeta and BVNK to place digital dollars on payment cards highlight growing competition from blockchain-based payment systems. Wider stablecoin use could pressure traditional card rails, although Mastercard may also benefit if it provides infrastructure for the emerging market. Stablecoins Are Coming For Payments

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler started coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $666.64.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $568.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $497.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.25, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $561.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $522.54.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.14%.

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global technology company that operates a payments network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payment transactions, including credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, by providing the infrastructure used to authorize, clear and settle transactions.

Mastercard’s products and services include its Mastercard-branded payment cards, digital payment tools, contactless payment technology and payment solutions for businesses and governments.