Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC cut its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 89.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 36,842 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $2,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Mastercard by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 79,897,854 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $45,612,087,000 after purchasing an additional 466,514 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $41,444,231,000 after buying an additional 72,461,743 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Mastercard by 2.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,580,374 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $20,807,283,000 after acquiring an additional 997,536 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,686,605 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $11,773,153,000 after acquiring an additional 349,369 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in Mastercard by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,964,658 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $10,256,368,000 after acquiring an additional 759,584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $640.00 price objective for the company. Dbs Bank raised shares of Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $679.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Mastercard in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $597.00 price target for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $653.92.

Mastercard Price Performance

Mastercard stock opened at $530.52 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $507.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $514.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $468.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.70, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.73. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52-week low of $464.52 and a 52-week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.41 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during 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%. Mastercard’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.73 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 20.14%.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard announced new enhancements to its virtual card platform, including stronger security controls, embedded payments capabilities, and single-API access. This supports growth in B2B payments and could improve adoption of Mastercard’s commercial payment tools. Mastercard Expands Virtual Card Platform with New Security Controls, Embedded Payments Network and Single API Access
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is being highlighted by commentators like Jim Cramer as a “tech company in bank clothing,” reinforcing the market’s view of MA as a high-margin payments compounder with durable growth characteristics. Mastercard (NYSE:MA): Jim Cramer’s “Tech Company in Bank Clothing”
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expectations are building for Mastercard’s upcoming earnings report, with analysts looking for another earnings beat and continued profit growth. That can support the stock if results and guidance confirm strong consumer spending and transaction volume trends. MasterCard (MA) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard is also expanding into the creator economy through a new debit card partnership, which adds another growth avenue but is not yet large enough to move fundamentals on its own. Mastercard Sees the Next Payments Customer in the Creator Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles and market commentary have focused on Mastercard’s valuation, long-term moat, and competitive positioning versus peers like Affirm. These pieces are more about sentiment than immediate catalysts, though they contribute to the mixed tone around the stock. Mastercard vs. Affirm: Which Fintech Stock Has More Room to Run?
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage suggests Mastercard may be less attractive than faster-growing fintech names such as Affirm on a valuation and upside basis, which could temper investor enthusiasm. Mastercard vs. Affirm: Which Fintech Stock Has More Room to Run?
• Negative Sentiment: There is also ongoing speculation about a possible sale of a majority stake in Mastercard’s UK payments subsidiary Vocalink, which adds uncertainty around a key infrastructure asset. Is Mastercard (MA) Cheap Or Fully Valued On Vocalink Sale Talk?

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,880. This trade represents a 5.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares in the company, valued at $8,702,934.17. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.