GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 2,085 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,581 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $11,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after buying an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 8.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 2,548 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Betterment LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 6.5% during the second quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 947 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 35.8% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 677,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $380,548,000 after acquiring an additional 178,387 shares during the period. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at $431,000. Institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BVNK acquisition expands digital-asset capabilities: Mastercard completed its purchase of stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK, a deal announced at a value of up to $1.8 billion. The acquisition is intended to connect fiat and digital currencies and strengthen Mastercard’s offerings to banks, businesses and other institutions adopting stablecoins. Mastercard completes acquisition of BVNK to advance global stablecoin capabilities
• Positive Sentiment: Fiserv partnership could drive merchant-services growth: Mastercard and Fiserv announced a global partnership combining Fiserv’s Commerce Hub with Mastercard’s merchant services. The collaboration is designed to help enterprise merchants improve payments across channels and markets, potentially increasing Mastercard’s business-to-business and value-added-services opportunities. Fiserv and Mastercard Deepen Global Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases reinforce bullish sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its Mastercard price target to $695 from $650 and maintained an “overweight” rating. Other reports also cited price-target increases to $680 and $685, suggesting analysts see additional upside following Mastercard’s strong earnings performance. Mastercard price target raised
• Positive Sentiment: Premium-card refresh supports payment volume and engagement: Mastercard, Citi and American Airlines introduced enhanced benefits for the Citi/AAdvantage Executive World Legend Mastercard, including expanded lounge access, rewards and travel-related perks. The initiative targets frequent premium travelers and could support spending activity on Mastercard’s network. Mastercard launches richer Citi AAdvantage Executive World Legend Card
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard announced six senior appointments across Asia Pacific and is reorganizing regional leadership. The moves may improve execution but have no immediate financial impact. Mastercard makes senior appointments across Asia Pacific
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Michael Miebach sold a combined 33,256 shares for approximately $19.1 million, reducing his direct holdings by roughly 26%. Because both sales occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, they may reflect scheduled diversification rather than a negative view of Mastercard’s outlook, limiting the bearish signal. Mastercard CEO SEC Form 4 filing

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mastercard news, insider Raj Seshadri sold 4,828 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,625,225. The trade was a 22.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total value of $9,439,383.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 115,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,806,033.28. This represents a 12.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 40,261 shares of company stock valued at $22,773,599 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Mastercard from $629.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Clear Str upgraded shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Mastercard from $561.00 to $554.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $659.00.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.1%

MA opened at $571.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $504.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.72. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $517.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $514.63. Mastercard Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $464.52 and a fifty-two week high of $601.77.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The business’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.15 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.77 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.14%.

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.