Everest Financial Group LLC Buys 3,235 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Everest Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 69.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,914 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,235 shares during the quarter. Everest Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $3,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MA. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Mastercard by 820.0% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA bought a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. First Pacific Financial increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 113.8% in the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC now owns 57 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,880. The trade was 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 a total of 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler started coverage on Mastercard in a report on Monday, June 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price target on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $640.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $679.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $653.65.

Mastercard Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of MA opened at $539.48 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $508.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $515.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $476.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.22, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.73 earnings per share. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 20.14%.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded its virtual card platform with new security controls, single-API access, and broader embedded payments capabilities, which could support more B2B transaction volume and deepen relationships with banks and businesses. Mastercard Expands Virtual Card Platform with New Security Controls, Embedded Payments Network and Single API Access
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is also pushing into the creator economy with a new business debit card partnership, suggesting continued expansion into newer customer segments and additional payment use cases. Mastercard puts its cards on creators with a new business debit card
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street still sees room for earnings growth ahead of Mastercard’s upcoming report, and the stock continues to be viewed as a high-margin “payments-tech” compounder. MasterCard (MA) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist trimmed its price target to $554 from $561 but kept a Buy rating, which signals slightly less upside than before without changing the overall bullish stance. Read More
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Mastercard’s positioning in agentic AI, virtual cards, and the creator economy, but these are largely strategic updates rather than immediate financial catalysts. Sunrate and Mastercard Release White Paper on Agentic AI and the Future of B2B Global Payments
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market concern around capex spending and the tech sell-off could create some near-term pressure on valuation multiples, even though Mastercard is not a direct AI infrastructure spender. Capex fears trigger biggest Tech sell-off since ‘Liberation Day’

Mastercard Company 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.