Mastercard Incorporated $MA Stake Boosted by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 61.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 368,812 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 140,742 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 1.0% of Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest 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.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Mastercard by 820.0% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 46 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hyposwiss Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard by 250.0% in the third quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MA. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Susquehanna cut their target price on Mastercard from $670.00 to $665.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $631.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Mastercard from $735.00 to $675.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.81.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

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

Mastercard Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE MA opened at $539.00 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $497.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $518.82. Mastercard Incorporated has a one year low of $464.52 and a one year high of $601.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $476.25 billion, a PE ratio of 31.19, a PEG ratio of 1.63 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 (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.60 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 business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.73 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total transaction of $2,534,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,625,225. This trade represents a 22.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.