Munro Partners Sells 14,890 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Munro Partners reduced its holdings in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 185,454 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 14,890 shares during the quarter. Mastercard makes up about 2.9% of Munro Partners’ portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Munro Partners’ holdings in Mastercard were worth $105,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MA. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 73.2% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 698 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Curio Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Mastercard by 22,400.0% in the second quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 225 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,475,807 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $44,098,695,000 after purchasing an additional 931,132 shares during the period. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Mastercard by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its holdings in Mastercard by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 727,985 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $413,597,000 after purchasing an additional 20,686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MA. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Citigroup raised shares of Mastercard to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Compass Point set a $620.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.48.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $576.68 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $465.59 and a twelve month high of $601.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $554.34 and its 200-day moving average is $565.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $517.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.87, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.87.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. Mastercard’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This is a boost from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Mastercard’s payout ratio is presently 19.44%.

Mastercard News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Launched “Merchant Cloud,” a new suite aimed at helping merchants modernize digital commerce and accelerate omnichannel payments adoption — broadens merchant solutions and potential SaaS-style revenue. Mastercard introduces Merchant Cloud for the evolving digital commerce landscape
• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard SpendingPulse reports U.S. retail sales (ex-auto) up about 3.9% Y/Y through Dec. 21, signaling stronger consumer spending and higher payments volume for Mastercard. Mastercard SpendingPulse: Savvy Shoppers and E-Commerce Fuel U.S. Holiday Retail Sales Growth by 3.9% YOY
• Positive Sentiment: Industry preliminary data from Visa and Mastercard shows ~4% U.S. holiday retail growth — reinforces the SpendingPulse read and supports expectations for higher take?rates and processed volume. Visa and Mastercard report 4% growth in US holiday retail sales
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded strategic partnerships to accelerate “agentic commerce”: Fiserv will implement Mastercard’s Agent Pay Acceptance Framework at scale, improving merchant access to AI-driven payment flows. This increases distribution and could boost volume over time. Fiserv and Mastercard Partner to Advance Trusted Agentic Commerce For Merchants
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership with LoanPro to offer “Loan on Card” expands credit and lending capabilities delivered via Mastercard rails — potential new fees and deeper issuer relationships. Mastercard Incorporated (MA) Partners with LoanPro to Offer Loan on Card
• Positive Sentiment: FAB (First Abu Dhabi Bank) and Mastercard launched mobile-first virtual corporate cards in the UAE, strengthening commercial card presence in a fast-growing corporate-payments market. FAB and Mastercard transform UAE business payments with mobile-first virtual corporate cards
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and interviews (e.g., regional execs on digital payments/crypto) provide strategic color but no near-term financial impact disclosed. Mastercard’s Prakriti Singh and Raj Dhamodharan discuss the future of digital payments and crypto in the region
• Neutral Sentiment: Options?market writeup notes increased derivatives activity around MA — indicates trader interest/positioning but not a fundamental directional signal. Unpacking the Latest Options Trading Trends in Mastercard
• Neutral Sentiment: MSN and other outlets highlighted holiday e?commerce trends based on Mastercard data — supportive macro picture but largely reiterative. Holiday shoppers turn to e-commerce for deals and convenience — Mastercard

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.