Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,757 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,424 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $47,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,897,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $45,612,087,000 after purchasing an additional 466,514 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in Mastercard by 53,535.0% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,444,231,000 after purchasing an additional 72,461,743 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Mastercard by 2.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,807,283,000 after purchasing an additional 997,536 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,686,605 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $11,773,153,000 after purchasing an additional 349,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,964,658 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,256,368,000 after purchasing an additional 759,584 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Scam-prevention initiatives could support growth and trust. Mastercard is strengthening its defenses against scams, a move that may improve consumer confidence, reinforce relationships with financial institutions and support the value of its payment network. Mastercard bolsters scam defense
• Positive Sentiment: Potential Vocalink sale is drawing investor attention. A possible sale of Vocalink could allow Mastercard to monetize an asset and sharpen its strategic focus, although the financial impact will depend on transaction terms and execution. The company’s recent earnings momentum is another supportive factor for shareholders. Potential Vocalink Sale and Earnings Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Expectations remain constructive ahead of earnings. Analysts’ estimates for Mastercard’s June 2026 quarter and key operating metrics are being closely monitored. The upcoming report is expected to provide insight into payment volumes, cross-border activity and consumer spending. Mastercard Q2 earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Visa and Mastercard earnings will offer an industry read-through. Investors are watching both companies’ results for evidence of the health of consumer spending and cross-border transactions, which could create volatility for MA depending on the reported trends. Visa and Mastercard earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard launched a U.S.-dollar corporate debit card with Egypt’s National Bank, expanding its commercial-payments presence in the region. Egypt corporate debit card launch
• Negative Sentiment: Truist issued a pessimistic forecast for MA shares. The bearish outlook presents a counterweight to the positive earnings expectations and could limit upside if Mastercard’s results or guidance disappoint. Truist forecast for Mastercard

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total transaction of $1,047,276.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $8,702,934.17. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% 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 7,005 shares of company stock valued at $3,689,976 in the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mastercard Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of MA stock opened at $551.51 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $487.31 billion, a PE ratio of 31.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $509.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $514.44. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $601.77.

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

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Mastercard from $561.00 to $554.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $653.65.

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.