Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 1,757 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated $MA

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 9.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,078 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,757 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $9,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Robbins Farley increased its position in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% during the third quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 45.2% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 61 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat — Mastercard reported adjusted EPS of $4.76 (above estimates) and revenue of $8.81B; management pointed to strong gross dollar volume (GDV), cross?border spending and growth in cybersecurity/value?added services as the main drivers. Mastercard’s Q4 Earnings Beat on Strong GDV, Cross-Border Volume
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic growth initiatives — management is pushing beyond cards into “agentic commerce” and stablecoins, signaling new rails for payments that could boost long?term revenue mix and margins if adoption accelerates. Mastercard Leans Into Agentic Commerce and Stablecoins While Card Volumes Rise
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded MA to a “strong?buy,” providing additional buy?side support after the quarter. Zacks / Cantor Fitzgerald coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings disclosure and context — transcripts and slide deck detail metrics and management commentary for investors digging into guidance, margin drivers and regional trends. Useful for re?rating or modeling MA but not an immediate catalyst. Mastercard Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate — some analysts note MA is richly valued, though others argue the earnings beat and growth profile justify a premium; this fuels mixed near?term trading. Mastercard stock is expensive, but Q4 earnings still warrant a buy
• Negative Sentiment: Workforce reduction — Mastercard will cut roughly 4% of full?time employees after a business review, a near?term cost but also a signal that management is trimming to improve efficiency. Mastercard to lay off 4% of its global workforce, CFO says
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and policy risk — CEO public comments opposing U.S. legislative changes (Credit Card Competition Act) highlight regulatory headwinds that could affect interchange economics or competitive dynamics. Mastercard CEO wades into Trump’s credit card pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/marketing risk — a promotional “reverse ATM” stunt drew criticism for hidden risks, a reminder that brand and trust matter in payments. Mastercard’s ‘reverse ATM’ stunt comes with a hidden risk

Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $543.66 on Friday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 1 year low of $465.59 and a 1 year high of $601.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $554.59 and its 200 day moving average is $564.43. The stock has a market cap of $488.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.76, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $8.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.80 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This is a positive change from Mastercard’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is 22.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MA. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Mastercard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $631.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $665.00 price objective on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $662.63.

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.