Quantitative Investment Management LLC Buys 6,257 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Quantitative Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 47.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,257 shares during the period. Mastercard comprises 1.1% of Quantitative Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Quantitative Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Robinswood Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth $25,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA purchased a new stake in Mastercard in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial increased its stake in Mastercard by 113.8% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 62 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Linda Pistecchia Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $570.31, for a total transaction of $2,440,926.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 31,179 shares in the company, valued at $17,781,695.49. The trade was a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 7,444 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total transaction of $4,296,155.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 40,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. This represents a 15.39% 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 sold 71,357 shares of company stock valued at $40,637,262 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and QNB Group processed Syria’s first international card transaction in more than 15 years. The milestone marks the reopening and modernization of Syria’s international payments infrastructure following the lifting of certain U.S. restrictions. Although the near-term financial contribution is likely to be small, the development creates a potential new market and demonstrates Mastercard’s ability to support payments expansion. Syria marks first international card transaction in more than 15 years with Mastercard and QNB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have given Mastercard a consensus “Buy” rating. Continued Wall Street support adds to the bullish backdrop, though the rating itself may already be reflected in the share price. Mastercard Incorporated Given Consensus Rating of Buy by Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman added Mastercard to the hedge fund’s portfolio. The purchase may improve investor sentiment by signaling confidence from a prominent long-term investor, although it does not change Mastercard’s operating outlook. Bill Ackman Just Made His Biggest Portfolio Overhaul in Years
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership with Klook targets growing travel and experiences spending across Asia Pacific. Mastercard cardholder benefits and additional travel-related payment touchpoints could support transaction volume in a high-growth region. Klook and Mastercard collaborate to enhance travelers’ experiences across Asia Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard will participate in the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 10, where CFO Ling Hai is scheduled to speak. Investors may look for updates on growth, margins and capital allocation, but no new financial information was provided. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s name appears as a supporter of an XRPL/Ripple hackathon, but reports caution that the sponsorship does not represent a new cryptocurrency partnership or major product launch. Mastercard’s Name Is on the Ripple Hackathon, But Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Mastercard from $650.00 to $695.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Mastercard from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $664.71.

Mastercard Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $595.51 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1-year low of $464.52 and a 1-year high of $601.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $549.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $519.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $521.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.71.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.14%.

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.