Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 239,681 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Mastercard comprises 0.6% of State of Michigan Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $119,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,444,231,000 after purchasing an additional 72,461,743 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 861.6% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,324,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648,748 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Mastercard by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,807,283,000 after buying an additional 997,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at $497,311,000. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard shares are being supported by broader strength in financial stocks, which rose late in the session and helped lift sentiment across the sector. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Rise Late Afternoon
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to meaningful upside in Mastercard, with Buy ratings and favorable MarketRank/price-target sentiment reinforcing a constructive outlook for the stock. Analysts See Major Upside for These 5 Stocks (MA)
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also gained attention after adding NordVPN to its lifestyle perks, a small but positive consumer-facing enhancement that could support cardholder engagement. NordVPN is now part of Mastercard’s lifestyle perks — find out if you are eligible
• Neutral Sentiment: News that Mastercard is reviewing options for its U.K. payments subsidiary Vocalink suggests portfolio optimization, but the financial impact is still unclear because talks are reportedly early and no deal has been announced. Mastercard examines sale of UK payments subsidiary Vocalink
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional reports that Mastercard may sell a majority stake in Vocalink, and commentary about overseas regulators and “payment protectionism,” could matter strategically, but they do not yet indicate a completed transaction or immediate earnings impact. Mastercard in early talks to sell majority stake in Vocalink– report
• Negative Sentiment: The Vocalink headlines also highlight regulatory pressure in the U.K. and concerns about foreign ownership of critical payments infrastructure, which could create uncertainty or limit Mastercard’s strategic flexibility. Mastercard’s Vocalink rumors and the rise of payment protectionism

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $537.02 on Tuesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $500.32 and a 200-day moving average of $516.83. The stock has a market cap of $474.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.73.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 212.96% and a net margin of 45.88%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.73 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 20.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MA shares. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $653.78.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total transaction of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. The transaction 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. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This trade 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. Insiders have sold a total of 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.