2,032 Mastercard Incorporated $MA Shares Bought by Strategic Planning Group LLC

Strategic Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 5.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 38,808 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,032 shares during the quarter. Mastercard accounts for 2.2% of Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $21,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Foster Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 0.9% in the third quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 2,122 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.8% during the second quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Novem Group increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 0.4% during the second quarter. Novem Group now owns 4,680 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 444 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance raised its holdings in Mastercard by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance now owns 408 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:MA opened at $632.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $554.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $580.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $538.90. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $633.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mastercard news, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total value of $217,038.71. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,035,181.07. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sachin Mehra sold 7,444 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider owned 40,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 72,676 shares of company stock valued at $41,966,586. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MA. Bank of America upped their price objective on Mastercard from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $632.00 target price (up from $609.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore boosted their price target on Mastercard from $550.00 to $620.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $682.66.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Tokenization could support revenue growth. UBS estimates payment-tokenization services may contribute low-single-digit percentage growth to Mastercard’s overall revenue and low-to-mid-single-digit growth in value-added services as digital payments expand and fraud prevention becomes more important. Visa and Mastercard tokenization fees could support revenue growth, UBS says
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming earnings expectations are favorable. Analysts anticipate year-over-year earnings growth in Mastercard’s upcoming report, while recent results have exceeded consensus estimates for both earnings and revenue. This is reinforcing expectations for another potential earnings beat. MasterCard Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding its technology and payments ecosystem. New initiatives include AI tools that help cardholders use benefits, developer APIs for AI-agent payments, stablecoin risk-assessment capabilities and a Global Money Platform developed with BVNK. These products could create future revenue streams and strengthen Mastercard’s role in digital commerce. Mastercard unveils AI assistant to help cardholders use benefits
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships broaden payment volume opportunities. Agreements with Aurionpro for contactless transit payments in North America and BankIslami for Shariah-compliant cards could expand Mastercard’s acceptance footprint and transaction volumes. Its First-Party Trust program also targets rising “friendly fraud,” supporting merchant demand for Mastercard’s security services. Aurionpro, Mastercard Partner on Contactless Transit Payments in North America
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and execution remain considerations. Mastercard has substantially outperformed the broader market and trades at a premium earnings multiple. Investors will likely focus on whether upcoming results and guidance justify that valuation, particularly as the shares approach their 52-week high. Is the Market Underpricing Mastercard Stock?

Mastercard Profile

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payments and provides technology that supports transactions conducted through credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payment products.

In addition to operating its payments network, Mastercard offers services in areas such as payment security, fraud prevention, authentication, cybersecurity, data and analytics, loyalty programs, digital identity and open banking.