Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Purchased by Thornburg Investment Management Inc.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 26.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 123,446 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,533 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $63,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 valued at $41,444,231,000 after buying an additional 72,461,743 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 861.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,648,748 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,001,671 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $20,807,283,000 after purchasing an additional 997,536 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total value of $8,838,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,873,475. The trade was a 14.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 71,357 shares of company stock valued at $40,637,262 over the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA opened at $595.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $521.67 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $549.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $519.62. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.62.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The company 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Dbs Bank upgraded Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Clear Str raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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. Five equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $664.71.

Key Stories 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

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.