M. Kulyk & Associates LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

M. Kulyk & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 160.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,570 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,505 shares during the quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $6,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vulcan Value Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vulcan Value Partners LLC now owns 466,222 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $265,233,000 after purchasing an additional 28,331 shares during the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Mastercard by 153.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,856 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its holdings in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 309,192 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $175,872,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. increased its position in Mastercard by 88.9% during the third quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 15,335 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $8,723,000 after buying an additional 7,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in Mastercard by 3,694.7% during the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 9,297 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,288,000 after buying an additional 9,052 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mastercard Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $496.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $443.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $525.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $551.00.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The credit services provider reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.52. Mastercard had a return on equity of 203.92% and a net margin of 45.65%.The firm had revenue of $8.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 9th. Mastercard’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.07%.

More Mastercard News

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major strategic deal — Mastercard agreed to acquire BVNK for about $1.8 billion, strengthening its stablecoin and digital-asset infrastructure capabilities, a direct revenue/strategic growth catalyst as the company pushes deeper into crypto-enabled payments. Stablecoin Strategy: Mastercard to Acquire BVNK for US$1.8bn
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — BNP Paribas Exane raised Mastercard from “neutral” to “outperform” and set a $600 price target, a bullish signal that can attract buyers and support near-term momentum. BNP Paribas Exane Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish research/valuation views — recent analyst and independent commentary (e.g., Seeking Alpha) highlight Mastercard’s high margins, transaction growth, and multi-year EPS runway, reinforcing the long-term investment case. Mastercard: You Swipe, I Win
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal update — London’s Court of Appeal has allowed Mastercard and Visa to appeal a ruling that their default merchant interchange fees breach competition law; the decision preserves the right to challenge the judgment but leaves the underlying antitrust risk unresolved. Allowed to Appeal UK Ruling
• Neutral Sentiment: Value/price-check coverage — several pieces examine whether the recent pullback makes MA a buy, noting solid fundamentals but some short-term share weakness versus historical highs; useful context for longer-term investors but not an immediate catalyst. Is Mastercard Offering Value After Recent Share Price Weakness?
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term market pressure — articles and market note flow highlight that Mastercard (and peers Visa/AmEx) have seen recent selling/“roughing up,” and some traders are positioning this as a buy-the-dip situation; that selling pressure can keep volatility and cap near-term upside. Why Mastercard Shares Are Trading Lower Today

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Mastercard from $685.00 to $655.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $739.00 target price on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Mastercard in a report on Tuesday. Compass Point raised shares of Mastercard from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $620.00 to $735.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Mastercard from $660.00 to $668.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mastercard presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $667.88.

About Mastercard

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.