Waverly Advisors LLC Buys 2,547 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,431 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,547 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bank OZK raised its position in Mastercard by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank OZK now owns 10,105 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,190,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Carmignac Gestion grew its holdings in Mastercard by 92.6% during the second quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 732,598 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $376,234,000 after purchasing an additional 352,128 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 28,985 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,887,000 after buying an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $144,170,000. Finally, MLG Wealth Management DBA Pine Grove Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. MLG Wealth Management DBA Pine Grove Financial Group now owns 660 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE MA opened at $568.07 on Thursday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $464.52 and a 1 year high of $601.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $497.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $561.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $522.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 239.99% and a net margin of 46.34%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Dbs Bank upgraded Mastercard to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $679.00 to $681.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $640.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised their price objective 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, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $666.64.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard launched AI-commerce tools designed to help merchants and shopping agents discover products, personalize offers and complete transactions. The initiative positions Mastercard to participate in a potential shift toward agent-led online shopping and could support future payment volume and value-added-services growth. Mastercard Launches New AI Commerce Tools for Merchants and Shopping Agents
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard executives highlighted AI, data and brand-building as key tools for improving marketing effectiveness and customer engagement. This supports the company’s strategy of expanding beyond payment processing into higher-margin data and technology services. The Innovation Playbook
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard joined a World Bank initiative to expand digital payments in emerging markets. Greater acceptance and financial inclusion could create additional card issuance, transaction and cross-border payment opportunities over time. World Bank Pushes to Expand Emerging Market Digital Payments
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard is expanding its ecosystem in the Middle East through Jaywan acceptance on Mastercard Gateway and a partnership with Banque du Liban to increase digital-payment acceptance among Lebanese small businesses and women entrepreneurs. These efforts support international volume growth and merchant penetration. noon payments enables Jaywan acceptance through Mastercard Gateway Mastercard and Banque du Liban collaboration
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard introduced its World Select premium card program in India for affluent consumers. The program could raise spending per cardholder and deepen relationships with premium issuers in a rapidly expanding payments market. Mastercard launches World Select in India
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard forecasts that one in ten consumers could use AI agents for online shopping within four years. The opportunity is significant, but adoption, transaction economics and how AI agents monetize payments remain uncertain. Mastercard AI-agent shopping forecast
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. Bank’s stablecoin pilot and moves by Marqeta and BVNK to place digital dollars on payment cards highlight growing competition from blockchain-based payment systems. Wider stablecoin use could pressure traditional card rails, although Mastercard may also benefit if it provides infrastructure for the emerging market. Stablecoins Are Coming For Payments

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Linda Kirkpatrick sold 4,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was 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 approximately $17,781,695.49. This trade represents a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Raj Seshadri sold 1,977 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.73, for a total value of $1,047,276.21. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,702,934.17. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 74,623 shares of company stock valued at $42,544,606. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Company Profile

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is a global technology company that operates a payments network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses. The company facilitates electronic payment transactions, including credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments, by providing the infrastructure used to authorize, clear and settle transactions.

Mastercard’s products and services include its Mastercard-branded payment cards, digital payment tools, contactless payment technology and payment solutions for businesses and governments.