QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $63.10 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 126,287 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,196 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises about 0.7% of QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $63,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,897,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,612,087,000 after acquiring an additional 466,514 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 53,535.0% in 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 grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 997,536 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $11,773,153,000 after purchasing an additional 349,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,964,658 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,256,368,000 after purchasing an additional 759,584 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total value of $2,534,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,625,225. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MA. Citigroup cut their target price on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $730.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $653.81.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced new partnerships to expand digital and inclusive financial services, including a collaboration with VEON across Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. That supports the company’s international growth strategy and could increase future network usage and transaction volume. VEON and Mastercard Join Forces to Accelerate Accessibility of Financial Services
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also said integrated payment systems could add meaningful tourism revenue, reinforcing the company’s role as a beneficiary of cross-border spending and digital payments adoption. Integrated payment systems could add €300 in annual tourism revenue – MasterCard
• Positive Sentiment: ZEN.COM launched Mastercard Click to Pay, reflecting rising demand for simpler online checkout experiences and another sign that Mastercard’s payment rails remain widely adopted by merchants and consumers. ZEN.COM Launches Mastercard Click to Pay as Consumer Demand for Simpler Online Payments Grows
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Mastercard’s strong earnings track record and suggested it could beat estimates again next quarter, which can support investor confidence ahead of the next report. Will MasterCard (MA) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat’s week-in-review coverage framed Mastercard as a steady, high-quality payments name, but it did not introduce any new company-specific catalyst beyond broader investor interest in defensive growth stocks. MarketBeat Week in Review – 06/29 – 07/03
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary on stablecoins and payments competition suggests the industry is evolving, but the articles generally portray Mastercard as well-positioned rather than under direct pressure. Is Mastercard (MA) Trading At A Premium Despite Stablecoin Moves?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Raj Seshadri sold shares on two separate days under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan. While not necessarily a bearish signal on fundamentals, insider sales can still weigh on sentiment around the stock. SEC filing for insider sale

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MA opened at $539.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The stock has a market cap of $476.25 billion, a PE ratio of 31.19, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.73. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $497.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $518.96.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced 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. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend 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 presently 20.14%.

Mastercard 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.