Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stock Acquired by Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust

Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust increased its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,762 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for 2.8% of Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 20.9% in the third quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC grew its position in Mastercard by 1.3% in the third quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 31.6% in the third quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 763 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 776 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,372 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.00, for a total value of $8,838,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 93,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,873,475. The trade was a 14.09% decrease in their position. The sale 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 Sachin Mehra sold 3,266 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 36,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,403,600. This represents a 8.18% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 72,676 shares of company stock worth $41,966,586. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard introduced a Stablecoin Security tool that combines payment and blockchain intelligence to detect fraud, scams and sanctions exposure before funds move on-chain. The product could support wider stablecoin adoption and create opportunities in fraud prevention and risk-management services. Mastercard introduces risk intelligence to stablecoin payments
• Positive Sentiment: The company is expanding its digital-asset capabilities, including stablecoin payment and card services across approximately 130 countries, as reported stablecoin payments rose 45% to $482 billion. This strengthens Mastercard’s role in connecting crypto-based payments with traditional commerce. Mastercard expands crypto team as stablecoins take center stage
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched an AI-powered Agent Detection Score to estimate whether transactions were initiated by software rather than humans. The technology may help manage fraud and trust risks as autonomous shopping agents become more prevalent. Mastercard unveiled an AI Agent Detection Score
• Positive Sentiment: New partnerships with Extend, Moovn, BankIslami and Powertranz broaden Mastercard’s business-software, digital-payment and regional offerings, potentially supporting future transaction growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: U.S. officials are pressing China over independent market access for Mastercard’s payments network. Greater access could provide a significant growth opportunity, but the timing and outcome remain uncertain. U.S. officials press China on market access
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Ling Hai sold 4,317 shares for approximately $2.7 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reducing direct ownership by 10.77%. The scheduled nature of the sale limits its significance, but it may create modest negative sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Mastercard’s shares are near their 52-week high and trade at roughly 34 times earnings, leaving the stock vulnerable to profit-taking if upcoming results or guidance do not sustain elevated growth expectations.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MA. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $632.00 price objective (up from $609.00) on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Mastercard from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $682.66.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $616.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $540.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $577.08 and its 200-day moving average is $536.11. 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 quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm 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 (DPR) is 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.