Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 140,742 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 61.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 368,812 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 140,742 shares during the period. Mastercard accounts for approximately 1.0% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $184,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MA. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd raised its holdings in Mastercard by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 139,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,089,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504 shares in the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,113,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,299 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $130,902,000 after purchasing an additional 9,795 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 396.3% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 46,145 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,343,000 after purchasing an additional 36,848 shares during the period. Finally, Marble Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,328,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard expanded its global payments strategy through a new partnership with VEON to improve accessible financial services across Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, which could support long-term transaction growth and network usage. VEON and Mastercard Join Forces to Accelerate Accessibility of Financial Services
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard also announced cybersecurity-related initiatives in Africa, reinforcing its brand with governments and potentially strengthening trust in its payment infrastructure over time. Mastercard partners govts to protect Africa’s cyberspace
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive, with coverage noting Mastercard’s strong history of beating earnings estimates and suggesting it may post another upside surprise next quarter. Will MasterCard (MA) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler upgraded Mastercard to strong-buy, a vote of confidence that can help support the valuation. Mastercard upgraded by Piper Sandler
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Raj Seshadri sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sales are worth noting, but they do not necessarily signal negative fundamentals. SEC filing for insider sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader commentary on stablecoins and Visa’s Open USD push highlights increasing competition and change in payments, but the articles frame Mastercard as well-positioned rather than under immediate pressure. Visa, Mastercard and 140 firms launch Open USD

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Mastercard in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $605.00 target price for the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $653.81.

Mastercard Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $539.00 on Friday. 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 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $497.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $518.82. The stock has a market cap of $476.25 billion, a PE ratio of 31.19, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.73.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.73 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

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.