Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Bought by Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,670 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,079 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up 1.5% of Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $94,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fundsmith LLP acquired a new position in Mastercard during the second quarter worth $639,458,000. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 147.2% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 1,682,183 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $863,969,000 after buying an additional 1,001,671 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 295.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 860,011 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $441,702,000 after buying an additional 642,724 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 26.2% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,941,951 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,622,398,000 after buying an additional 611,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the first quarter valued at about $293,574,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA traded up $8.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $661.13. 1,936,242 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,351,180. The firm has a market cap of $575.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $600.12 and its 200 day moving average is $542.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $681.99.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The credit services provider reported $5.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $9.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.66 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.73% and a return on equity of 260.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 20.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.20%.

Mastercard News Summary

Here’s some of the latest news about MA:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard opened its largest Asia-Pacific Innovation Centre of Excellence in Singapore, focused on AI-enabled payments, cybersecurity and agentic commerce. The hub could help develop new services and partnerships across the region; the company also plans to add more than 250 specialist roles in Singapore by 2029. Mastercard opens Asia-Pacific Innovation Centre
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership with Sage will bring Mastercard debit-card capabilities into accounting software for small businesses in France, potentially widening its reach in business payments. Mastercard valuation and Sage partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage also cites favorable analyst views of Mastercard, but the articles provide limited detail on new price targets or near-term earnings impact. With no major downside catalyst in the supplied reports, the recent news flow appears modestly supportive rather than a clear standalone driver of the shares.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total transaction of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at $23,613,851.08. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total transaction of $217,038.71. Following the sale, the director owned 8,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,035,181.07. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 25,403 shares of company stock valued at $15,428,736 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MA. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $550.00 to $620.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Argus raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $694.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Mizuho set a $711.00 price target on Mastercard in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $675.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $713.21.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses and governments. Its network supports electronic payments, including transactions made with Mastercard-branded credit, debit and prepaid cards, as well as digital payment methods. The company provides technology for authorizing, clearing and settling transactions. It also offers services related to cybersecurity, identity verification, data analytics, fraud prevention and payment consulting.