Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Buys 7,735 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,733 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $17,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 108 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank lifted its position in Mastercard by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 479 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mastercard by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,597 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $908,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 1.1% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 1,717 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman adds Mastercard to Pershing Square portfolios: Ackman identified Mastercard as one of six new holdings, alongside Visa and Netflix. His view that the companies can deliver strong earnings growth provides a high-profile endorsement and may increase investor interest in MA. Reuters article on Ackman’s new investments
• Positive Sentiment: Potential upside from agentic commerce: Investors are assessing whether AI agents that initiate and authenticate transactions could expand Mastercard’s higher-growth services business and allow the company to capture additional payment-related economics. Mastercard and agentic commerce article
• Positive Sentiment: Stablecoin payments pilot expands Mastercard’s digital strategy: Mastercard and Borderless.xyz launched a cross-border stablecoin payments pilot using Mastercard Crypto Credential standards, potentially supporting future transaction growth while emphasizing compliance and verification. Mastercard stablecoin payments pilot
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst earnings expectations remain constructive: Erste Group Bank raised its fiscal-year EPS forecast for Mastercard to $19.92 from $19.66, above the broader consensus estimate of $19.82. Recent results also showed double-digit revenue growth and an earnings beat, reinforcing the company’s growth profile. Mastercard EPS estimate article
• Neutral Sentiment: Payments-sector backdrop is favorable: RBC reported that fintech and payments companies exceeded quarterly expectations amid solid consumer spending, a supportive environment for Mastercard’s transaction volumes. However, the report does not represent a company-specific forecast. RBC payments-sector analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and valuation risks remain: A pending UK Mastercard consumer lawsuit could result in compensation payments, while the stock’s elevated valuation leaves MA sensitive to weaker growth, regulatory pressure, or disappointing guidance. Mastercard lawsuit article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $632.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Clear Str raised Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Mastercard from $554.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $631.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $661.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total value of $1,047,276.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total value of $2,440,926.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 31,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,781,695.49. The trade was a 12.07% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,913 shares of company stock worth $35,769,036. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $567.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $528.81 and its 200-day moving average is $516.18. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $497.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.22, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.72.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 19.14%.

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.