National Pension Service Has $886.99 Million Position in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

National Pension Service grew its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,727,014 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,551 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.20% of Mastercard worth $886,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 139,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,089,000 after buying an additional 9,504 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its position in Mastercard by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 65,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,768 shares during the period. Marble Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth about $1,328,000. Charles Lim Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter valued at about $15,699,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 28,205 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $584.00, for a total value of $1,907,344.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 36,650 shares in the company, valued at $21,403,600. The trade was a 8.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total value of $1,047,276.21. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 74,623 shares of company stock worth $42,544,606 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA stock opened at $568.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $497.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $561.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $522.54. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $601.62.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for 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 was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched AI-commerce tools designed to help merchants and shopping agents discover products, personalize offers and complete transactions. The initiative positions Mastercard to participate in a potential shift toward agent-led online shopping and could support future payment volume and value-added-services growth. Mastercard Launches New AI Commerce Tools for Merchants and Shopping Agents
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard executives highlighted AI, data and brand-building as key tools for improving marketing effectiveness and customer engagement. This supports the company’s strategy of expanding beyond payment processing into higher-margin data and technology services. The Innovation Playbook
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard joined a World Bank initiative to expand digital payments in emerging markets. Greater acceptance and financial inclusion could create additional card issuance, transaction and cross-border payment opportunities over time. World Bank Pushes to Expand Emerging Market Digital Payments
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding its ecosystem in the Middle East through Jaywan acceptance on Mastercard Gateway and a partnership with Banque du Liban to increase digital-payment acceptance among Lebanese small businesses and women entrepreneurs. These efforts support international volume growth and merchant penetration. noon payments enables Jaywan acceptance through Mastercard Gateway Mastercard and Banque du Liban collaboration
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard introduced its World Select premium card program in India for affluent consumers. The program could raise spending per cardholder and deepen relationships with premium issuers in a rapidly expanding payments market. Mastercard launches World Select in India
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard forecasts that one in ten consumers could use AI agents for online shopping within four years. The opportunity is significant, but adoption, transaction economics and how AI agents monetize payments remain uncertain. Mastercard AI-agent shopping forecast
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. Bank’s stablecoin pilot and moves by Marqeta and BVNK to place digital dollars on payment cards highlight growing competition from blockchain-based payment systems. Wider stablecoin use could pressure traditional card rails, although Mastercard may also benefit if it provides infrastructure for the emerging market. Stablecoins Are Coming For Payments

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Clear Str upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Mastercard from $642.00 to $696.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $666.64.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global technology company that operates a payments network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payment transactions, including credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, by providing the infrastructure used to authorize, clear and settle transactions.

Mastercard’s products and services include its Mastercard-branded payment cards, digital payment tools, contactless payment technology and payment solutions for businesses and governments.