Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Holdings Decreased by James Hambro & Partners LLP

James Hambro & Partners LLP decreased its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,739 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,362 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 0.1% of James Hambro & Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. James Hambro & Partners LLP’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,964,305 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $18,984,867,000 after buying an additional 486,283 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 10.4% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,123,041 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,559,779,000 after buying an additional 480,725 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Mastercard by 1.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,225,359 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,111,216,000 after buying an additional 42,871 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in Mastercard by 5.8% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,626,416 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,862,527,000 after buying an additional 199,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Mastercard by 17.8% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,666,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,831,763,000 after buying an additional 554,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total transaction of $9,439,383.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,921 shares in the company, valued at $65,806,033.28. The trade was a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Julius Genachowski sold 371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.01, for a total transaction of $217,038.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,035,181.07. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,359 shares of company stock worth $39,290,046. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $580.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $597.00 to $710.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $682.66.

Key Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is partnering with Moovn to expand digital payments across East Africa. The agreement could increase Mastercard’s reach in a fast-growing, underpenetrated market and support longer-term transaction-volume growth. Mastercard and Moovn join forces to scale digital payments across East Africa
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership with Pakistan’s BankIslami is aimed at strengthening digital payments and card acceptance, adding another potential growth channel for Mastercard in an emerging market. Mastercard and BankIslami partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding stablecoin capabilities through its Global Money Platform, reportedly reaching 130 countries after the BVNK acquisition. The move positions MA to benefit if blockchain-based payments gain wider adoption. Mastercard stablecoin cards
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and Powertranz are simplifying restaurant payments, while the company’s Agent Pay Trust Framework adds tools to authenticate AI-driven transactions. These initiatives could reinforce Mastercard’s role as commerce becomes more digital and automated. Powertranz and Mastercard restaurant payments
• Neutral Sentiment: U.S. officials are pressing China on market-access issues involving Mastercard. Progress could open a significant opportunity, but the article provides no resolution, making the near-term earnings impact uncertain. Mastercard China market access
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and financial commentary continue to compare Mastercard favorably with American Express because MA operates a global network without taking direct consumer credit risk. However, these are investment opinions rather than new company-specific financial results. American Express versus Mastercard
• Negative Sentiment: Stablecoin payment volumes are rising rapidly, increasing the risk that blockchain networks could bypass traditional card rails. Mastercard’s stablecoin investments mitigate that threat, but also highlight intensifying competition. Stablecoin payments rise
• Negative Sentiment: MA is trading close to its 52-week high and at a high earnings multiple ahead of third-quarter results. The stock’s recent decrease may therefore reflect valuation concerns and profit-taking, with investors awaiting evidence that earnings growth can justify the premium.

Mastercard Stock Performance

MA stock traded down $3.38 on Monday, reaching $614.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,223,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,503,726. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $464.52 and a 52 week high of $622.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $537.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $575.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $535.29.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.15 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

About Mastercard

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.