Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 42,533 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 83.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,547 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 42,533 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $4,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in Mastercard by 53,535.0% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 72,597,097 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $41,444,231,000 after acquiring an additional 72,461,743 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mastercard during the fourth quarter worth about $6,705,708,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 861.6% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 4,072,210 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,324,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648,748 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 2.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 997,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $497,311,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mastercard

In other news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.00, for a total value of $2,534,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,625,225. This represents a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Sandra A. Arkell sold 200 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.00, for a total value of $108,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,880. This represents a 5.68% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,005 shares of company stock worth $3,689,976. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $578.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $513.36 and a 200-day moving average of $514.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $511.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.73. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $464.52 and a 12 month high of $601.77. 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 earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.88% and a return on equity of 212.96%. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. Mastercard’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna dropped their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Mastercard from $656.00 to $629.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $609.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $701.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $652.19.

Key Headlines Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations: Mastercard reported adjusted EPS of $5.04 versus the $4.77 consensus and revenue of $9.28 billion versus $9.08 billion expected. Revenue rose 14.1% year over year, while profit benefited from higher payment volumes, cross-border transactions, switched transactions and value-added services. Mastercard profit jumps as stable spending drives transaction volumes
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised confidence in growth: Mastercard expects third-quarter net revenue growth at the high end of its low-double-digit range. The anticipated closing of its BVNK acquisition could also strengthen its stablecoin settlement and digital-asset infrastructure. Mastercard expects Q3 2026 revenue growth near the high end of guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term growth opportunities remain attractive: Executives said Mastercard is developing tools for “agentic commerce,” allowing AI shopping agents to authenticate transactions and make payments. Its fraud-detection capabilities and new scam-monitoring program may help the company remain relevant as commerce evolves. How Mastercard plans to compete in agentic commerce
• Positive Sentiment: Industry conditions were supportive: Financial stocks broadly advanced, while stable employment, wage growth, inflation-related transaction values and strong cross-border activity supported spending across Mastercard’s network.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst estimate revisions were mixed but modest: some forecasts increased, including FY2027 EPS to $22.27, while others made small reductions to later-quarter or FY2026 estimates. Mastercard’s valuation remains elevated at roughly 33 times earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Convenience-store groups are challenging Mastercard fines related to vape sales, creating a potential regulatory and merchant-relations issue. Separately, ongoing scrutiny of card “swipe fees” could pose longer-term pressure on network economics. Mastercard responds to challenge of fines for vape sales

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.