Versant Capital Management Inc Has $1.35 Million Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Versant Capital Management Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 29.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,629 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,076 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $1,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,897,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,612,087,000 after buying an additional 466,514 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 72,461,743 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position 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 buying an additional 997,536 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 1.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 349,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,964,658 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,256,368,000 after acquiring an additional 759,584 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BVNK acquisition completed: Mastercard finalized its approximately $1.8 billion purchase of crypto infrastructure provider BVNK. The deal is intended to help banks and businesses move value between fiat currencies and digital assets and strengthen Mastercard’s stablecoin capabilities. Mastercard completes acquisition of BVNK to advance global stablecoin capabilities
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets raised: Cantor Fitzgerald lifted its Mastercard price target to $695 from $650 and maintained an “overweight” rating. Other analysts raised targets to $680 and $685, while Mastercard’s overall analyst consensus remains “Buy.” Mastercard price target raised to $680
• Positive Sentiment: Travel and payment partnerships expanded: Mastercard announced new or expanded collaborations with American Airlines and Citi, Emburse, GCash, Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Authority and Bahrain-based INFINIOS. These initiatives could increase card usage, travel-related payments and stablecoin settlement opportunities. American Airlines, Citi and Mastercard introduce new benefits
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic execution remains the focus: Mastercard made six senior appointments across Asia Pacific and continues positioning its network for digital-payment growth. These moves are supportive strategically but are unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profit-taking may limit gains: Despite strong recent earnings growth and favorable analyst commentary, Mastercard trades near its annual high at a premium earnings multiple. Investors may be taking profits or waiting for clearer evidence that the BVNK acquisition and stablecoin initiatives will generate meaningful revenue.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $701.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Mastercard from $561.00 to $554.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $659.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This represents a 10.74% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.3%

Mastercard stock opened at $571.38 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $504.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $516.33 and a 200-day moving average of $514.45. 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 one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s 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.