Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan Grows Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan raised its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 4.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,006 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,162 shares during the quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $96,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in Mastercard by 820.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Robinswood Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 Mastercard stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at $23,613,851.08. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,357 shares of company stock worth $40,637,262. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and QNB Group processed Syria’s first international card transaction in more than 15 years. The milestone marks the reopening and modernization of Syria’s international payments infrastructure following the lifting of certain U.S. restrictions. Although the near-term financial contribution is likely to be small, the development creates a potential new market and demonstrates Mastercard’s ability to support payments expansion. Syria marks first international card transaction in more than 15 years with Mastercard and QNB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have given Mastercard a consensus “Buy” rating. Continued Wall Street support adds to the bullish backdrop, though the rating itself may already be reflected in the share price. Mastercard Incorporated Given Consensus Rating of Buy by Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman added Mastercard to the hedge fund’s portfolio. The purchase may improve investor sentiment by signaling confidence from a prominent long-term investor, although it does not change Mastercard’s operating outlook. Bill Ackman Just Made His Biggest Portfolio Overhaul in Years
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership with Klook targets growing travel and experiences spending across Asia Pacific. Mastercard cardholder benefits and additional travel-related payment touchpoints could support transaction volume in a high-growth region. Klook and Mastercard collaborate to enhance travelers’ experiences across Asia Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard will participate in the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 10, where CFO Ling Hai is scheduled to speak. Investors may look for updates on growth, margins and capital allocation, but no new financial information was provided. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s name appears as a supporter of an XRPL/Ripple hackathon, but reports caution that the sponsorship does not represent a new cryptocurrency partnership or major product launch. Mastercard’s Name Is on the Ripple Hackathon, But Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Mastercard from $665.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Mastercard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $664.71.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $595.51 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $601.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $549.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $519.62. The company has a market cap of $521.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.76, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. Mastercard’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

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.