Gavilan Investment Partners LLC Increases Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Gavilan Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,500 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up approximately 6.6% of Gavilan Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Gavilan Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $24,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 8.5% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Betterment LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 6.5% during the second quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,548,000 after buying an additional 178,387 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $431,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total value of $2,534,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,625,225. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 that occurred 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 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 have sold 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced new enhancements to its virtual card platform, including stronger security controls, embedded payments capabilities, and single-API access. This supports growth in B2B payments and could improve adoption of Mastercard’s commercial payment tools. Mastercard Expands Virtual Card Platform with New Security Controls, Embedded Payments Network and Single API Access
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is being highlighted by commentators like Jim Cramer as a “tech company in bank clothing,” reinforcing the market’s view of MA as a high-margin payments compounder with durable growth characteristics. Mastercard (NYSE:MA): Jim Cramer’s “Tech Company in Bank Clothing”
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expectations are building for Mastercard’s upcoming earnings report, with analysts looking for another earnings beat and continued profit growth. That can support the stock if results and guidance confirm strong consumer spending and transaction volume trends. MasterCard (MA) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard is also expanding into the creator economy through a new debit card partnership, which adds another growth avenue but is not yet large enough to move fundamentals on its own. Mastercard Sees the Next Payments Customer in the Creator Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles and market commentary have focused on Mastercard’s valuation, long-term moat, and competitive positioning versus peers like Affirm. These pieces are more about sentiment than immediate catalysts, though they contribute to the mixed tone around the stock. Mastercard vs. Affirm: Which Fintech Stock Has More Room to Run?
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage suggests Mastercard may be less attractive than faster-growing fintech names such as Affirm on a valuation and upside basis, which could temper investor enthusiasm. Mastercard vs. Affirm: Which Fintech Stock Has More Room to Run?
• Negative Sentiment: There is also ongoing speculation about a possible sale of a majority stake in Mastercard’s UK payments subsidiary Vocalink, which adds uncertainty around a key infrastructure asset. Is Mastercard (MA) Cheap Or Fully Valued On Vocalink Sale Talk?

Analyst Ratings Changes

MA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $590.00 to $561.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $671.00 to $664.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mastercard currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.92.

Mastercard Stock Down 0.3%

Mastercard stock opened at $530.52 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $507.37 and a 200-day moving average of $514.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $468.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.73.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.73 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.14%.

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.